The Clash of Immortals
by BlackRose1026
Summary: Thinking that her hardest struggles were behind her, Reyna is swept away, with Nico and Rachel Dare, to a majestic place called the House, whose ruler is dedicated to ending the gods' rule over Earth and punishing them for their many selfish deeds. An impossible question lays before them: can they bring themselves to betray the gods, and their friends, for the good of Earth?
1. Home at Last

PART ONE: INVESTIGATION

CHAPTER 1: Home at Last

A small smile formed on Reyna's face as the SUVs pulled up to the side of the road. It was a rare sunny day Bay Area, and the August air was hot and humid. Cars sped by the parked cars on the highway, some drivers undoubtedly staring at the line of SUVs that had pulled up at the side of the road. Across the highway was a large rock that had the shape of a face, a seemingly innocent rock, but Reyna knew better. Behind that rock was the entrance to Camp Jupiter. Reyna was finally home.

Reyna exited the vehicle, careful to avoid getting hit by a car. With her in the vehicle were Frank, Reyna's fellow praetor, and his girlfriend Hazel, currently the centurion of the Fifth Cohort. Behind them was the entirety of the Twelfth Legion, fully armed and armored, the metallic weapons glinting in the harsh sun. Once all of the demigods had exited, the SUVs moved onward, rejoining the highway traffic and driving away.

"We finally made it back," said Frank, his arm around Hazel. "All of the quests, all of the battles, all of the hardships, and things have finally returned to normal."

"Not completely," Hazel replied, her amber locks curling about her shoulders. "You became a praetor somewhere along the way." She glanced up at her boyfriend, her eyes gleaming with pride.

Frank didn't react, instead staring at the rock with a blank expression. This would be his first real day, Reyna knew. He had been made praetor back in the ancient lands, but he never had actually commanded the legion before. This would be the first time he would be stepping into his leadership role as praetor. But Reyna knew he would be fine. He didn't have to face this role by himself, he would have her help. There was a reason the legion had two praetors, after all.

"Twelfth Legion, to the camp!" Reyna commanded loudly. She had had enough standing around on the highway, it was time to head home.

Slowly, the legion crossed the highway and made its way to the entrance to the camp. It was a quick walk across to the rock, and luckily no camper was hurt. Through the rock entrance went the legion, Reyna and Frank at the head. The Caldecott Tunnel was the same as it always was, long and straight, with a bright light at the end. Finally, Reyna and Frank stepped through the end of the tunnel, and into Camp Jupiter.

The first thing that registered to Reyna was the roar of the Little Tiber running through the camp. She looked around, and saw everything as she remembered. It had been over a month since she left, but everything looked as if untouched. The Via Principalis, where the legion slept, stood in front of her across the river. The Field of Mars, with its war-torn landscape, lay beyond. And far in the distance, gleaming white and beautiful, was New Rome, with its domes and arches, standing in glory. It was a marvelous scene, one that Reyna treasured every time she saw it.

A few minutes later, the legion was busily settling back in. Legionnaires were busy unpacking war supplies and reorganizing their barracks. Reyna, meanwhile, was sitting in the praetors' quarters with Frank, her new partner. Her dogs, Aurum and Argentum, were resting to either side of her.

"It's getting late," said Reyna. "Sunset is only a couple of hours away." She was in the middle of removing her armor, instead opting for her usual purple cloak that designated her as praetor.

"We made decent time," said Frank. "We left Camp Half-Blood early yesterday morning."

Reyna looked up at Frank. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and see it in his eyes. He had spent nearly a month and half aboard a flying ship, travelling through the ancient lands on a quest to defeat Gaea, the Earth Mother, who wished to awaken and destroy all of the Olympian gods. Frank and his friends had been successful, but he had not gotten any rest since then, and, though he hid it well, Reyna could tell that Frank was absolutely tired.

Reyna stood up, walked over to Frank, and placed a hand on his shoulder. That hand began to glow, and Frank began to loosen up, and life returned to his eyes. Reyna had given him some of her strength, which was one of her most valuable abilities.

"Thank you," Frank whispered.

Reyna nodded curtly. "Why don't you go supervise the unpacking," she said. "I will go to the kitchens in New Rome and have them prepare a victory feast." She began to step out of the room, but then stopped. "You did well, Praetor Zhang," Reyna said over her shoulder. "You will make a fine praetor, and I will look forward to working with you." Not waiting for a reply, Reyna stepped out the door.

The air had gotten slightly cooler, as the sun dipped toward the western horizon. Reyna walked alone along the path that led to New Rome. There were no fauns, and no Lares, it was just her. The rest of the legion would be all together, helping each other unpack, and she was all alone. Not for the first time, the solitary nature of her position weighed slightly on her mind.

 _It's lonely at the top_ , she thought.

In no time at all, the praetor reached the Pomeranian Line, and the city of New Rome stood right before her. The city was in its usual state of quiet hustle and bustle, the few people that noticed her waving and smiling, congratulating her on the legion's victory. Suddenly, the statue to Reyna's left came to life.

"Praetor," greeted Terminus. "Welcome back to Rome."

"Thank you, Terminus," Reyna replied. "I have orders to give to the kitchens. There is to be a victory feast tonight."

"That sounds marvelous," said Terminus. "I'd ask you to surrender your weapons, but I figure you know better at this point."

Reyna smiled and continued walking. Sure enough, Reyna had left all her weapons back in her quarters, and Terminus did not react as she stepped over the Pomeranian Line.

The warm greetings continued as Reyna walked through the city. She didn't know everyone, but everybody knew her. Some she recognized as former legionnaires, some were likely legionnaires that retired way before she arrived at camp. It didn't matter. Reyna received a warm welcome and many congratulations on the victory over Gaea. Reyna didn't reply with much enthusiasm, but it gave her a warm feeling to know that everyone was glad for her.

 _It feels good to be home_ , she thought as she approached the kitchens. _Very, very good._

* * *

A few hours later, the victory feast was in full swing. Aurae flew around the room, bringing dishes to all of the seated campers. Lares blinked in and out of visibility, appearing by the tables every now and then. Several fauns walked along the perimeter of the room, trying to get further in, only to be denied by the legionnaires.

Reyna was sitting at a table with Frank, her fellow praetor, and all ten of the centurions. Dakota was sipping a glass of Kool-Aid, holding his glass elegantly. Reyna figured it must have been his first, since he wasn't so tipsy. Leila, Michael Kahale, and the others were also present, as well as Hazel, the newest centurion of the Fifth Cohort.

"This feast is delicious," Dakota said, lips already starting to become red.

"It was well-earned," said Reyna. "The legion fought well, and the victory over Gaea was decisive and significant."

"We couldn't have done it without the Greeks, though," Hazel added in reminder. "They were a big help."

Frank nodded, having spent his time with Hazel alongside four Greek demigods in Europe.

"You announced back at their camp that exchange programs were to be set up," Michael pointed out, munching on a hamburger. "What kind of programs?"

"Exactly what they sound like, Michael," said Frank. "We'll send some legionnaires to Camp Half-Blood for some time and they will send some of their campers here. We'll assign them to a cohort temporarily, and they will train with us. They'll participate in our war games, in our meals, and so forth."

"And when will all of that start?" Leila asked.

Frank looked toward Reyna, unsure of what to answer.

"Whenever the Greeks are ready," Reyna replied. "All they have to do is contact us."

Leila nodded slowly, as if unsure how to react to that prospect. Reyna could understand where she's coming from. It was one thing to work with the Greeks, another to invite them openly into Camp Jupiter. Reyna was unconcerned, though, she had faith that the Greek-Roman schism was completely behind them.

"Reyna!" someone called. Reyna turned her head in surprise to see a young woman approaching her. She had blue eyes and a pale face full of freckles, but what was most noticeable about her was her startling red hair. Reyna had seen this person before, and was aware that she'd be travelling with them back to camp, but she had never spoken before at length.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Reyna replied as soon as Rachel arrived at the table. "I apologize for not giving you a formal welcome upon arrival, I was somewhat busy."

Rachel smiled. "Oh, don't worry about it. You have a lovely camp, by the way, and this feast is marvelous."

"Your warm words lift my spirits," said Reyna politely. "I am glad you have decided to journey back with us. Reconstructing the Sibylline Books will be a monumental task, but with time I am sure you will succeed."

Rachel blushed. "Thanks for the encouragement. I actually plan to start tomorrow, if Ella is up to it."

"That's good," said Reyna. After a moment of silence, Rachel still remained there, standing politely. "Um, is there anything else that I can do for you?"

A flash of relief crossed Rachel's face. "I'm glad you asked. Actually, I was never shown to where I would be staying."

Reyna's face paled. With embarrassment, Reyna now noticed that Rachel was wearing a large, unpacked knapsack on her back, and was carrying a duffel back in her hand.

The praetor spun on her centurions, a serious look on her face. "Not _one_ of you showed Miss Dare to her quarters?" She turned back to Rachel. "I apologize for our legion's evident lack of hospitality. I'll show you to your room myself. Praetor Frank, if it comes time for the toast and I'm still gone, you will take the honors."

Not wanting to keep Rachel waiting any longer, Reyna immediately got up and beckoned Rachel to follow.

"You will be staying in New Rome, in one of the apartments," Reyna said to Rachel once they were out of the dining hall.

"That sounds nice," Rachel replied, eyes gaping at the beautiful buildings and fountains of New Rome. "Listen, you don't have to get tough with your campers over me, it really wasn't a bad wait."

Reyna turned to Rachel. "I am praetor. It's my _job_ to be tough with them. I know you're Greek, and this seems foreign to you, but this is the Roman way."

"Actually, I'm not Greek at all," said Rachel. "I'm not even a demigod."

Reyna's eyes widened in surprise. "Apollo chose a mortal to house the Oracle of Delphi?"

Rachel's eyes flitted downward.

"I did not mean offense," Reyna said quickly. "You must be a very talented mortal."

"Thank you," Rachel said kindly, "though maybe I'm not so talented as I thought, since the Oracle hasn't worked in days."

"I'm sure that will be solved," Reyna said confidently. "Apollo will fix whatever is wrong."

Rachel was about to reply, but suddenly someone was walking toward them. Reyna recognized the man as a resident of the city.

"Praetor Reyna," the man called out. "There is someone here in the city to see you. He says he is a friend."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "He didn't give you a name?"

"No," the man replied, "but he is within the Pomeranian Line, so he has no weapons on him."

"Very well," said Reyna. "Bring him to me, but be cautious."

The man nodded and returned the way he came.

"If you need to have a private discussion, I can go elsewhere," said Rachel from Reyna's side.

"This will only take a moment," Reyna replied. "You can stay here."

Rachel nodded as the man returned, a smaller person at his side. Reyna could not make out who the man was due to the dark night, but as the person got closer, his features became clearer, and his face became more recognizable. And it was a familiar face indeed.

"Nico!" Reyna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Nico smiled. He was wearing dark clothing to match his dark hair, and his face was as pale as ever. Yet he was changed, Reyna noticed. He no longer had this bitterness in his expression. He was no longer hunched over, and he no longer looked so emaciated. It was as if he had found sudden happiness out of nowhere, for the change was quite significant.

"You forgot something at Camp Half-Blood," said Nico. He held out his hand, and in them were an assortment of golden medallions. Reyna's hand immediately went to her neck, and came up empty, as her medallions obviously weren't there.

"That's impossible," Reyna declared, shocked. "I never take them off."

"Yet there they are," said Rachel, smiling.

"Rachel?" said Nico, somewhat surprised. "I forgot you came along with the Romans."

"Is my absence that unnoticed?" Rachel asked in a teasing manner.

Nico paled. "No, no, I didn't…"

"I'm just teasing," Rachel assured.

"You got here so fast," Reyna marveled, still staring at the medallions. "How?"

"Airplane," Nico replied. "And then shadow travel."

Reyna's expression turned serious. "You shadow travelled? That was a bad idea, considering all of the shadow travelling we just did. You could have died."

"It's not that for from the airport to here," Nico countered. "I only feel lightly weary. Now take your medallions."

Reyna did as she was asked, and took her medallions in her hands and put them around her neck, letting the metal touch her neck. Upon closer inspection, Reyna noticed that the medallions did not look the same. They used to be pure Imperial Gold, but now they looked different, slightly more muted. If Reyna looked closely, it almost seemed as if there were flakes of silver in the metal.

"Nico?" Reyna asked. "Did anyone touch these medallions?"

"No, of course not," Nico replied. "Not the metal, at least.

"It seems…different," Reyna muttered. She took one of the medallions in her hands, rubbing it between her fingers.

Suddenly Reyna began to glow. An aura of light formed around her, lifting her slightly into the air.

"Reyna!" Rachel exclaimed. Reyna's eyes grey panicked, as she was trapped with seemingly no way of escape. Rachel reached out and grabbed Reyna's arm, but that didn't help. In fact, the light encased Rachel as well.

"Nico, help!" Rachel cried, squirming as she levitated into the air.

Nico hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then he rushed forward and tried to pull Reyna and Rachel down, but it was no good. Nico was also encased in the strange, glowing light, being pulled into the air.

A second after Nico grabbed Rachel's arm, the three of them disappeared. They just winked out of existence, right into the thin air. The man who brought Nico came back to where the three kids were, and he saw them the moment they disappeared. Utterly shocked, the man ran to the dining hall to report the shocking news. Reyna the praetor was missing.

(Disclaimer: I own neither Keys to the Kingdom nor Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus)


	2. Explanations

CHAPTER 2: Explanations

When she landed, Reyna felt like she had just gotten off a roller coaster. She was extremely dizzy, and her surroundings kept swimming before her eyes, so much so that she could not tell where she was. She felt like she was about to throw up, especially since her stomach was still full from that feast.

She couldn't make out much, but she could tell that Rachel and Nico were with her. They had been transported along with her to…wherever it was that they were. Her vision was fuzzy, but she could see a lot of the color green, so whatever place they were in had quite a large amount of luscious vegetation.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Reyna's vision began to clear. Her surrounding began to come into focus, and what she saw was quite incredible. She was in a beautiful, green field that spread out for miles. There was a vast number of hedges in the distance, separating the field into sections. Strange yet colorful vegetation grew, from a multitude of small flowers to grand, trees, each unique in design and color scheme. In the distance, a large, white building stood. upon a hill.

"Where…where am I?" Reyna asked groggily.

"The Incomparable Gardens," a monotone voice replied. Reyna turned her head around and saw a very tall man standing there, patiently waiting. He matched the scenery in every way. His robes were colored dark green, his hair seemed black, but upon closer inspection was revealed to be a dark green, and even his pale skin was lightly tinged green. Reyna would have laughed out loud at this strangely colored man were in not for the long, vicious scythe he wielded.

"Who are you?" Reyna asked boldly, her voice much clearer than before. "Why am I here?"

The man smiled. "I see you've recovered from your travel by Transfer Plate. Good. The sooner the better."

Reyna's confusion must have shown on her face, for the tall man smiled wider. A surprised squeal from Reyna's side indicated that Rachel had recovered as well, and had noticed the man's scythe. Reyna couldn't blame her, as the scythe was extremely menacing in the man's grip.

"Listen," Reyna began cautiously. "We don't want to fight you, we have no business here. We only want to return to our camp."

"Oh, rest assured, I have no trouble with you either," the man replied. "I'm acting on orders to bring you from here to the Elysium." He pointed at the domed building in the distance that Reyna had noticed earlier. "My…boss would like to speak with you three."

Reyna usually reacted well under strange circumstances, but there was too much information buzzing around her head at one time. Where were they? What are the Incomparable Gardens? Who is this "boss?" There was only one way to find out the answers to these questions.

"Very well," the praetor replied. "Your boss, though, better have a good explanation for why he snatched us from our home and brought us here."

The man began to laugh. "Oh, you'll get a thorough explanation. But trust me, I don't think you'll like it."

Out of the corner of her eye, Reyna saw Rachel shoot her a worried look. Nico, out of his disorientation, also seemed extremely worried. Reyna felt the same, but she couldn't let it show, couldn't let it take control. So instead she took a deep breath and allowed the man with the scythe to lead her to the distant building.

As they walked, Reyna picked up on a few more unusual things. She noticed that there were a lot of tall people in these Gardens, running around to tend plants, trim hedges, and so forth. Beetles the size of small cars scurried all over the place, taller adults riding on their backs. At one point Reyna heard what sounded like an old-fashioned airplane. She looked up into the sky, and discovered that it was a giant dragonfly, bearing two people on its back.

"What kind of place is this?" Rachel whispered to her so the man leading them could not hear. "Who would bring us here?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Reyna whispered back. "The only way to do that is to meet this man's boss and have him answer our questions."

"And what if he's hostile?" Nico argued. "We need to have an escape plan."

"An escape plan?" said Reyna skeptically. "We have no idea how to get out of these Gardens. Besides, that man is more than capable of killing us. If they wanted us dead, we be dead already."

"You're right," Nico conceded, "but I just have a bad feeling here. The man even said we're not going to like what we're about to hear."

"Sometimes you have to deal with things you don't like," said Reyna resolutely. "We just have to grit our teeth and swallow it."

Nico merely shrugged his shoulders and kept moving, the scowl deepening on his face. The man in front kept walking, apparently oblivious to the conversation. Reyna gazed beyond him, slowly watching as the building grew closer and closer.

Upon entering the building, the man with the scythe led his charges through several corridors. Some were indoors, while some led outdoors for a little while. Eventually, they came upon a large set of brass doors, stretching from floor to ceiling. Engraved upon each of the two handles was a large letter S. Reyna, obviously, had no idea what it stood for, but she was sure she was about to find out.

"Wait here," the man with the scythe instructed. "The doors will open when we are ready for you." The man moved to the door, opened it slightly, and slipped through, closing it upon entry.

"Whoever rules this place must be a king," Rachel suggested. "Or, at least he rules like a king. Look at this place."

"What kind of place is this?" Nico asked wonderingly. "It doesn't even feel like we're on Earth anymore. Look at the sky, it's artificial! It's just a bright, tiled ceiling. Yet it's as bright as the daylight sun out here."

"It is very strange," Reyna agreed. "One thing is certain, our demigod friends will not be able to find us and rescue us, not from this place."

With that grim thought in mind, the doors swung open suddenly, revealing the grand room beyond.

It looked to Reyna like some sort of courtroom. A very ornate courtroom. The entire room was made of marble, including the benches and the large desk at the very far end of the room. There were pillars to either side, broad, white pillars that weren't necessary but were there merely for effect. Right before the large desk were seven chairs aligned in a crescent shape. Each chair was being occupied by a grand-looking individual. And at the desk itself, where the judge would sit in any normal courtroom, sat a giant of a man. He was twelve feet tall and regal in appearance. His black hair fell straight to his shoulders, his garb was a deep shade of blue, and he was armed to the teeth, bearing a sword, a trident, and what looked like a baton.

It was such a strange scene that Reyna and the others stopped a few feet into the courtroom, prompting a frown from the man at the desk.

"You may approach," the man said formally, beckoning with his hand. Reyna, remembering herself, continued walking down the center of the room, Rachel and Nico at her side. Off to the left side of the room, twenty more people sat calmly, hands on their laps. The last person in that row of people was the man with the scythe who had brought them here. At the time, Reyna thought that the man had been menacing and all-powerful, but now it was clear that there were several people his superior.

At last, the three reached the end of the center aisle, and stood before the man at the desk, as well as the seven sitting just below him. Though each was sitting quietly in their chairs, only the man in the center was paying attention to them. The man on the far left was asleep, the man on the far right seemed to be counting coins. There was a woman who was having a meal, and a man drumming his fingers angrily on his lap. A lady to the left of center was brushing her blonde hair, and a third woman with blue hair was staring forward with a sour look on her face.

There was silence in the room. It seemed like everything was ready to go, but no one was beginning whatever session this was. So Reyna decided to take things into her own hands.

"Excuse me, sir—"

"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano," the man at the desk fluently interjected. "This Court is not yet in session. We are still missing two." The man turned to his right. "Monday, did you send the summons like I asked?"

There was no reply.

"Monday. Monday!" the man called, polite yet stern.

The man to Reyna's left jumped awake. "What?" he asked groggily.

The man at the desk sighed. "Monday's Noon, would you be so kind as to bring the Rightful Heir and his friend back here, please? I'm afraid your master has forgotten."

A man with bright hair sitting toward the entrance to the room stood, bowed, and left the courtroom.

The man at the desk turned back to Reyna. "I'm afraid it will be a little longer before we start. While we're waiting, I suppose I can introduce everyone here. I am the New Architect, but you may call me Art."

Reyna was not sure what to make of that, and she still couldn't get over the fact that the man had known her full name.

The New Architect continued the introductions. He introduced each of the people sitting below him, who were all apparently named after the days of the week. Each day had three assistants whom they called their Dawns, Noons, and Dusks, and those were the people sitting off to the left side.

"As you can tell," Art was saying, "we already know who you are, Miss Ramirez-Arellano. And we also know Miss Dare and Mr. di Angelo. We're glad that the three of you were able to make it."

"We didn't have much of a choice," Nico pointed out. "I suppose it was you who switched Reyna's medallions with the fake ones?"

"Actually, my personal assistant did it," said Art. "Speaking of my personal assistant, where has she gotten to?"

All of the Dawns, Noons, and Dusks looked at each other, none of them knowing the answer to Art's question.

"No one knows," Art stated blandly. "Wonderful. The Rightful Heir has been delayed in coming to this session, and my assistant has decided to go missing."

"Those two problems are likely related," said one of the seven people sitting before the grand desk, the one called Lord Sunday. "Miss Blue likely went to greet her friends at Doorstop Hill."

Art's face seemed to brighten. "Well, then at least they'll arrive at the same time. It's a good thing Monday's Noon isn't as lazy as his master." Art glared down at Monday.

"Wait, hold on," Reyna declared suddenly. For one who was an expert at keeping her demeanor, the outburst had been quite strange, but Reyna had had it. She had been standing in this unusual, foreign place for far too long without a satisfactory explanation for where they were and why they were there.

"Miss Ramirez-Arellano?" Art replied. "I said that this session has not yet begun."

"I understand that," Reyna replied, keeping her patience. "I am merely suggesting that you can begin explaining where we are and how this place works before the session begins. Surely one named the Rightful Heir does not need to have his time wasted by things that he already is aware of."

A quiet murmur of assent flittered through the courtroom, while Art merely raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that would save time," he said at last. "Very well. I must go tell my scribe, Japeth, to come here, as the court session will begin soon. Lord Sunday, I task this explanation to you. Try not to be too biased."

Lord Sunday rolled his eyes as Art stood up and left through a private door by his chair. The woman to his left, Superior Saturday, chuckled at Sunday's annoyance.

Lord Sunday stood. He was the tallest of all the Days, about ten feet tall. He wore green robes, but his skin was pale white. What was most evident about his was a certain degree of haughtiness that he carried about him. He looked down at the three kids before him from an authoritative point of view, and he made every effort to make that evident. Reyna, defiant, looked right back up at him, hoping that it unnerved him.

"I assume that my Dusk told you where you were when he escorted you here," Lord Sunday stated. "These are the Incomparable Gardens, the most beautiful demesne in the House, and I am its ruler." Lord Sunday smiled, and Reyna did not fail to notice that Superior Saturday's chuckle was replaced by a murderous frown.

"Before I go on," Lord Sunday continued, "I must ask that you take all of your knowledge about your Greek and Roman gods and put it aside, for now. Yes, we are aware of their existence, and we will return to that in detail later. For now, you must forget all of the myths about creation and so forth, and listen to what I tell you. Agreed?"

Reyna glanced over to her companions, who had, just like her, reluctant looks on their faces. How could they just put aside their entire way of life? Reyna would need to ponder that later, but right now they needed explanations.

"Yes, I agree," Reyna replied. From either side, Rachel and Nico assented as well.

"Good," said Lord Sunday. "Now, let's begin. The House is the epicenter of the Universe. It was created by my mother, the Architect, along with the Secondary Realms, which is our name for all of the other worlds out there. The House was created as a place of observation and recording, a place where the Secondary Realms were to be watched, and all of the events and people written down and stored. My mother had a strict rule prohibiting interference with the Secondary Realm, this House was only meant for observation, not interference." It was evident from the way Sunday talked about that rule that he didn't think much of it.

"Your mother passed?" Rachel asked.

Lord Sunday nodded. "She passed, then briefly came back, then committed suicide. Good riddance, in my opinion. The only problem was that she had to destroy the entire Universe to do it, which she did. It was up to the New Architect, chosen as the Rightful Heir by my mother's Will, to recreate the Universe and resurrect me and my fellow Days, as well as the Dawns, Noons, and Dusks."

Reyna began to grow dizzy again. She had asked for information, but she had received too much at once. Rachel, however, seemed hung up on one thing.

"You're _happy_ that you mother committed suicide?" she asked incredulously. "How can that be?"

"Eh, you should have met her," said Sunday. "Not the loveliest Denizen of the House. Besides, she killed me in order to fulfill her suicidal wish. I'm lucky to even be standing here before you."

Rachel's mouth was agape, as if she couldn't comprehend the obvious dysfunction of Sunday's family.

"Anyway, so that is where you are, in my demesne. The House has seven of them, each of them ruled by one of the Days you see here. Each of us is only allowed to enter the Secondary Realms on our day."

"And today is Thursday," one of the Days piped up angrily. "This session of court is wasting my time!"

"Peace, Thursday," Tuesday muttered, still examining coins. "The day is long enough, you will get your chance."

Thursday grumbled something unintelligible, and then grew silent.

At that moment, Art returned to the courtroom, a short Denizen hustling before him, carrying a typewriter. At the same time, the courtroom doors opened behind Reyna, and five people entered. One of them Reyna recognized as Monday's Noon, but the other four were completely unfamiliar. They were all children, twelve-years-old or so. One was wearing very worn-out clothing and a top hat, but there was a big grin on her face. One was also quite happy, but was strangely dressed in an army uniform. The other two, a boy and a girl, were considerably less happy. The girl had pure white hair that was clearly dyed, and a bored expression, while the boy looked like a smaller version of the New Architect.

"Ah!" Art exclaimed, now sitting in his chair. "The Rightful Heir has arrived!"

The seven Days sitting in their chairs had unpleasant looks on their faces, but all of the Dawns, Noons, and Dusks stood and gave a thunderous applause.

"Welcome back to the House!" Art declared. "I thank you for answering our summons."

The Rightful Heir finished walking, deigning not to reply until he was standing right before Art's desk, a defiant look upon his face. "I thought I would never have to come to come here again."

Art's smile wavered. "Don't you want to come here, Arthur? To see all of the Denizens and all of the places?"

"Yeah, I do," said Arthur. "But I know you guys are going to send me off on another adventure, and the only Denizens I'm seeing are _them_." He pointed at the Days, who looked equally unhappy to see him. "I will never understand why you resurrected and restored the very Denizens who helped ruin the House to begin with."

"I wanted to restore order!" Art claimed. The seemingly powerful Denizen now looked to be completely at the mercy of this newcomer, Reyna noticed. "Besides, I've been keeping a good watch on them."

"Can we begin the court session already, please?" Reyna interrupted, slightly irritable. "If you insist on dragging us up here then at least tell us what you've abducted us for."

Shocked silence. Then, a clear, mischievous laughter. "Boy oh boy!" the top-hat girl exclaimed through chuckles. "She sure showed you, eh, Arty?"

"Suzy Blue!" Art scolded, like a father to a child. "You of all people have no right to laugh. How many times have I told you to be on time for court sessions?"

The girl, Suzy, pouted. "But I hate court sessions!"

"And you, General Fred Gold!" Art continued. "Why have you left your post in the Great Maze?

The kid dressed as a general looked confused. "To see Arthur, of course. Why else."

Art looked slightly stunned by that inane answer, then he put his head in his hands. "Piper's Children," he sighed.

"Art, I'm starting to agree with this girl over here," said Arthur. If he thought her presence strange, he did not show it. "Why am I here?"

Art straightened, recomposed. "Very well, then," he said quietly, a grave look on his face. "I have called you all here, despite the fact that it would mean snatching you out of your daily lives. The need is great, and the Secondary Realm known as Earth depends on you and your mission. With that, I now declare the Court of Days to be in session."


	3. For the Good of Earth

CHAPTER 3: For the Good of Earth

Dead silence followed this declaration by Art. The Days sat with pensive, contemplative looks on their faces (except Monday, he was dozing off). The people standing before the bench, though, had confused faces.

"So, this isn't even about the House?" the white-haired girl asked, speaking for the first time. "It's about Earth?"

Art nodded. "Allow me to explain, Leaf," he began. "As of right now, you are all aware of the old Architect's policy regarding interference with the Secondary Realms, correct?"

Arthur nodded. "No interference whatsoever. The Will was very adamant about that."

"Yes," said Art. "Now, the Architect did not want any Denizens of the House interfering with the Secondary Realms, but Earth was always different. There, and only there, did highly intelligent beings come about."

"Humans," said Nico, stating the obvious.

"Indeed," Art confirmed. "Initially, the Architect was fascinated by these creatures, so much so that a desire grew within her to lead them, to teach them, and to nurture them. But she was still committed to her policy of non-interference. Arthur, you know what happened next."

Arthur didn't blink. "The Old One," he muttered.

"Yes," Art said quietly. "The Architect split with her desire to rule the Secondary Realms, and that desire became a separate being called the Old One. That plan, however, did not last long, as the Architect and Old One began to disagree on every matter, resulting in conflict and the Old One's imprisonment. Most people think that the story ends there. It does not. The Architect was still intent on finding a good ruler for the humans, so she turned to the humans themselves."

"What do you mean?" Leaf asked. "Who rules over all humans?"

Art did not answer immediately, instead glancing at Reyna, Nico, and Rachel.

Rachel gasped. "You can't mean…but that doesn't make sense! They're not human at all!"

Reyna's eyes widened as it slowly dawned on her what Rachel was talking about.

"Originally," Art replied sadly, "they were. It happened in ancient times, at the very beginnings of the ancient Greek civilization. A man and a woman, siblings, named Ouranos and Gaea, were selected by the Architect and blessed with immortality similar to that of the highest of Denizens. The Architect had been watching them for several years, and for some reason she liked what she saw."

"But, but the stories…" Reyna mumbled in utter disbelief.

"All false," said Art. "Gaea and Ouranos, originally believed to be best suited for the job by the Architect, grew mad in their power, to the point where Ouranos began imprisoning his own children and Gaea growing mad with bloodlust. The rest is known to you, Reyna."

"Wait," said Arthur slowly. "Gaea. Ouranos. Those are the names of Greek deities." Slowly, he turned his head toward Reyna, as if seeing her and her friends for the first time. "You…you're not serious."

"I—I'm afraid it's true," Reyna replied choppily. "The Greek gods, all of the myths, they're all true. The gods even have Roman personalities, too. I'm the daughter of a Roman goddess myself."

Arthur and Leaf's respective jaws dropped.

"Now hold it!" Suzy Blue declared. "I don't know any of this stuff! What's a Greek?"

"You don't need to know," said Art wearily. "Suffice it to know that the Greek gods are ruling Earth, and they are ruling it terribly. The twelve Olympians and all the rest are selfish, crabby, and insufferable, and are making a mockery of the Architect's work."

Reyna winced at the criticisms. She wasn't sure what was making her cringe, the accusations themselves, or the fact that they were true.

"To be fair," said Nico, "some aren't bad."

"But collectively, as a whole, they are running Earth into the ground! They almost caused two world catastrophes in the span of twelve months! Not even these Morrow Days could mess up that badly!"

"Okay, it's not their fault that their enemies wanted to destroy them," Rachel posited.

"But it is their fault that they didn't handle it in a normal fashion!" Art countered. "Those lazy cretins can only manage to send their poor children to do their dirty work and clean up their messes. How dare it even be suggested that they accomplish their quests on their own?"

"Sending others to do dirty work," said Leaf. "Sounds exactly like what you're doing right now."

Reyna expected Art to get angry, but she must have been too used to the Olympians. Art instead had a pout sprout on his face. "I would do it myself if I could!" he complained. "I, however, am still bound by the Architect's policy of noninterference. That was the whole point of the gods anyway, to do what we at the House cannot, and they have utterly failed."

"Well," Suzy declared, cheery as ever, "I don't know who these people are, but I've never seen Arty this angry before. They must be that bad."

Art nodded. "That, everyone, finally brings me to your quest. You must capture these gods and bring them back to the House to face justice!"

Reyna raised her voice in objection before Art could finish his sentence. "What?" she yelled. "No! I can't! The gods…they're my way of life! My whole Roman Legion, it exists because of them! How could you ask me to turn on my entire way of life?"

Rachel, next to Reyna, was raising similar objections, but in a calmer fashion. Nico di Angelo did not speak, but he was glowering at the floor.

"Now, now," Art said placatively. "I understand your position, all three of you. But look at this situation objectively. You yourselves have even admitted to their atrocities. They cannot remain in power any longer."

"This wouldn't just be taking them out of power," Reyna protested. "I would be betraying my entire legion! The legion that I lead! All of my friends, I would have to fight them! I cannot do this."

"We've fought so hard," Nico added quietly, staring at his shoes. "We've fought so hard, and now you want us to ruin what we fought for?"

"You spent your life fighting for the gods," said Art quietly. "Now I ask you to spend time fighting for your world."

Reyna's hands shook. For a moment, she slightly entertained the idea. The gods _were_ greedy and selfish, and the world might be better off without them. _No, no I can't!_ Reyna thought furiously. _It's more than just the gods, it's my friends, it's the legion, it's brave demigods everywhere. I cannot destroy their world. My world._

"I'm sorry," said the praetor gravely. "I cannot help you."

She looked up at Art's face, expecting to see anger, but all she saw was sadness. "I see…" Art said quietly. "I'm sorry their world has entangled you so, I truly am. What say you, Mr. di Angelo?"

"I'm afraid I agree with Reyna," Nico replied, now looking up at Art. "I want a better world, but I'm not willing to take out the gods to do it."

Art nodded, the pained look still on his face. "Miss Dare?"

Rachel looked nervous, and she seemed to be more torn than any of the others. Shuffling her feet, she gave her reply: "I—I've always worked hard to improve the world, and I want to see change, really, but this is not the way to go about it. I'm sorry." A tear streaked down her face.

Art closed his eyes. "Very well," he sighed. "I will not force you. I'll have Transfer Plates prepared to send you back to that camp of yours. Lord Arthur, it appears you and Miss Leaf are on your own."

Arthur straightened, putting on a brave front. "It wouldn't be the first time," he joked. Leaf smiled and nudged him lightly in the ribs.

Arthur then turned to Reyna and her two companions. "It looks like the next time we'll be seeing each other, we won't be on the same side."

Reyna shook her head. "No, it doesn't look like it."

Arthur paused a moment, then stuck out his hand. "I know we only just met, but it was nice meeting you. Stay safe."

Reyna shook Arthur's hand, followed by Nico and Rachel. Reyna's heart sank that she would be soon opposing these very nice people. Arthur and his friends were nice, Art, for a leader like he was, was very polite, and the Dawns, Noons, and Dusks were amiable. Even the Morrow Days, albeit crazy, were not that bad.

"The Transfer Plates will take a few hours to prepare," Art was saying. "I know we picked you up at night time, so you all must be tired. We'll show you each to a bedroom so you can rest for some time."

"That would be most excellent," Reyna agreed, stifling a yawn as she did so. It had been a long day, full of driving, unpacking, and teleporting off to unheard of places to meet strange people. She needed a nap. By the looks of it, so did Rachel and Nico.

Art nodded. "Sunday's Dawn will show you to your rooms. You will be sent for as soon as the Transfer Plates are ready." Art's voice was polite and casual, but Reyna could sense his grimness.

"Thank you for your kindness," Reyna said, bowing politely. Nico and Rachel followed her lead. They then followed Sunday's Dawn out of the courtroom, looking forward to the prospect of a nice, comfortable bed and a few hours' sleep.

Outside, the sun shined pleasantly. It was an artificial sun, of course, but it still felt as warm and pleasant as the real one, if not more so. The numerous plants around the garden swayed ever so slightly, well-tended plants and flowers that grew in a rainbow of different flowers, red, green, and orange, blue, yellow, and purple. Reyna even thought she could see a black-colored flower, a strange plant, yet it still looked strong, healthy, and beautiful, not dead and fading.

"They're captivating, aren't they," said Sunday's Dawn suddenly, nodding her head at all of the greenery. Reyna snapped out of her reverie, acknowledging the Dawn for the first time since walking with her. She, like Sunday's Dusk, had pale skin that was lightly tinged green, but her hair was blonde, and flowed freely down to her waist. Slung across one of her shoulders was a brown bag.

"They're beautiful," Rachel replied, eyes gleaming. "I've never seen such colors."

"I've planted many of them myself," said Dawn. Smiling happily, she patted her bag. "Hopefully, I'll be able to plant many more in the centuries to come."

"You have seeds in there?" Nico asked, pointing to the bag.

Dawn nodded. "I'm known as the Sower, here in the Incomparable Gardens. I'm in charge of all of the seed planting that goes on here. I represent the beginning of the growth process as the Sower, just as I represent the beginning of the day as Dawn."

"Well, you've clearly done an exceptional job," Rachel praised. "I wish we had some of these flowers back home."

"Perhaps you can," Dawn replied optimistically. "Who knows what the future may bring, on a warm, soft, Sunday's dawn."

A few minutes later, they reached their adjacent rooms. Sunday's Dawn bid them farewell, saying that there were seeds that needed planting. As soon as she left, Nico retired to his room, saying he needed some time alone to think about things. Rachel, yawning, said something similar, and that she needed to rest. That left Reyna alone in her room, laying on her bed, wanting desperately to sleep but not being able to catch a single moment of slumber.

 _They've asked me to betray the gods_ , she thought. _To betray the gods._ She had spent the last hour or so in the House, and saw its immeasurable beauty and its kind Denizens, Denizens who still maintained their generous hospitality even after she and her friends had spurned her.

It was just too bad that she could not accept their request. Deep in her heart, in her heart of hearts, where her most secret feeling and emotions were stored, she knew that they were right, that the gods had no business running the world, and that Earth was better off without them. She just wished it were that simple, but the gods were her entire life. A goddess was her parent, a goddess was responsible for giving Reyna her powers, gods were responsible for the legion, for all the legionnaires, for Camp Jupiter, for Camp Half-Blood. Yes, the gods did many bad things, but the many good things in Reyna's life that she had would be destroyed if the gods were defeated. She had made pledged herself to her legion, and Reyna would not break that pledge lightly.

Slowly, Reyna shifted her position on the bed. There would be a war soon, she figured, the way that Art was intent on bringing the gods to justice. As soon as she returned to the legion, she would have to immediately prepare them for the upcoming struggle. She would also send a message to Camp Half-Blood, warning them of what was coming. _We just finished a war, and now another one comes knocking at our doors._

With those dreary thoughts in mind, Reyna's exhaustion finally overcame her worries, and she drifted into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Her subconscious did not give her an easy time on the dreams. Demigod dreams usually shifted from one place to the next, bouncing around to the different immortal beings that wished to converse with the person. This was different, though. There was no one trying to talk to Reyna, giving her advice or threats. Instead she was watching others as if she weren't there, like watching a movie.

And the things she saw were horrifying.

First, she saw a young nymph discover a man and a woman together in the woods. The man is revealed to be Jupiter, cheating on her wife with a maiden. Jupiter asks the nymph to say that he is in the city when Juno comes by, and the nymph does so. When Juno finds out that she has been lied to, she curses to poor nymph, forcing her to only be able to repeat the words of others, and not be able to speak anything else. When the nymph's great love wanders into the woods, the nymph tries to talk to him, but the man, unable to understand her, walks away. Venus cursed this man, making him fall in love with his own reflection for eternity.

The scene then shifted. There was a grand wedding taking place, in the finest hall with the finest minstrels and food. Many gods were in attendance, but one was not invited. Overly spiteful, the goddess Discordia threw a golden apple into the scene, a golden apple that read 'For the Fairest.' Juno, Minerva, and Venus, ever vainglorious, each believed the apple was meant for her. A disagreement ensued, and it was determined that Mercury would set out, and the first man he would come upon would decide to whom the apple should go to. Mercury came upon Paris, prince of Troy. Juno offered him dominion over all of Asia, while Minerva offered him wisdom and skill in battle like he had never seen. Venus, however, offered him the most beautiful woman in the world. It was this offer that Paris accepted, and the most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. Venus helped Paris spirit Helen away to Troy, and the Trojan War began, all because of three vain goddesses. But the worst part, the worst part was that it was all planned by Jupiter, who feared that the number of men in the world had risen to great, and wanted a war as a means of depopulation.

The scene shifted again. A young woman was merrily skipping through a field of flowers, plucking the most beautiful ones and putting them in a woven basket. Suddenly, she came upon a strange flower, a black and red flower. Curious, the girl picked it up and placed it in her basked. Suddenly, a rift in the earth opened, and a chariot as black as night appeared. The god inside, Pluto, grabbed the young woman and abducted her, taking her deep into the Underworld. When her mother, Ceres, went to Jupiter to complain, Jupiter would not force Pluto to give up Ceres's daughter Proserpina. Ceres then noticed that Jupiter sported a new lightning bolt. Furious, Ceres left Jupiter, but decided to take out her anger on the world, withholding harvest and causing widespread starvation. When Jupiter finally noticed all of the suffering, he called upon Pluto to return Proserpina to Ceres. Pluto complied, but as Proserpina was leaving, he tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds, and the laws decreed that once one eats food of the Underworld, they must stay there. Jupiter thus decreed this judgement: that Proserpina would stay in the Underworld six months out of the year, one month for each seed eaten. And while she was in the Underworld, the earth would yield no harvest, and mankind would suffer through the long months of winter.

The scenes kept shifting. Reyna saw countless wars that the gods started, cities that the gods laid to waste, natural disasters that were the result of their anger or ineptitude. And innocent people were always the ones to suffer as a result. Immeasurable suffering, uncountable tears, and shrieking cries that pierced Reyna's very soul. And she was trapped, forced to watch it all as people suffered, and people died.

* * *

Reyna woke with a start. A couple of tears immediately escaped her eyes, as a result of her successive nightmares. She had never had dreams that bad before, she wasn't sure any demigod did. Her hands were shaking, her heart was pumping, and her entire body was flooded with fear and sadness, the sorrow of her dreams still fresh in her mind.

 _Why did I dream those horrible dreams?_ Reyna wondered. _Was it because of all of that talk earlier? It must have been in the back of my mind and my subconscious brought it to my dreams_. Shaking her head Reyna rose from her bed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

A minute later, there was a knock at her door.

"You may come in," Reyna called out. The door opened to reveal Sunday's Dawn.

"The Transfer Plates are ready," she said. "You are to return to the courtroom, if you wish. Tell your friends." She disappeared quickly, closing the door behind her.

Rubbing her eyes, Reyna left her room, a layer of resigned melancholy draped over her heart. The artificial sun was now heavily toned down and low in the sky, colored soft red as if to imitate the sunset. The Denizens in the field were still hard at work, tending to the flowers and plants and harvesting fruits and grains.

Nico opened his door before Reyna could even knock. The child of Hades had bags under his eyes, as if he had not slept a wink. An irritable expression manifested itself on his face.

"I assume we're ready to go?" he asked drearily.

Reyna nodded. "Sunday's Dawn just stopped by. The Transfer Plates are ready. Let's go get Rachel."

"Okay," Nico replied. He gave Rachel a long, hard look. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."

"Neither do you," Reyna countered. "I guess you've been doing some pretty hard thinking?"

Nico scowled. "I'm not in the mood to talk right now. Let's go get Rachel."

Shrugging her shoulders, Reyna followed Nico to Rachel's room, the next one down. Nico knocked loudly on the door, causing Reyna to wince. She hoped Rachel wasn't sleeping.

"One second," Rachel called from inside. A few seconds later the door opened. "Yes?"

"The Transfer Plates are ready," said Nico. "You ready to go back to Earth?"

Rachel's face grew worried, her eyes darting to either side in a way that Reyna did not miss. "Now?" she asked. "Already?"

"It's been a few hours," said Nico. "That's how long they said it would take."

Rachel began to oddly wring her hands in an anxious manner as Nico and Reyna started back toward the courtroom. She reluctantly followed them, but she kept glancing to the side, looking out at the Gardens in sunset. _What is wrong with her?_ Reyna wondered.

In short order, the three reached the courtroom, and it looked almost as if they had never left. Art, the Morrow Days, and their Times were all still in the exact same positions they'd been in when Reyna had left. The only differences were that Arthur, Leaf, Suzy, and Fred were no longer there, and that in their place were three plates of electrum.

"Welcome back," Art greeted. "And goodbye as well. We have no further business, and you may go when you wish."

"Thank you again for your hospitality," said Reyna courteously. "You have been very kind, and we greatly appreciate it." Nico followed with a shorter thank you of his own, and Rachel remained silent, staring at the floor.

Art's response to the show of gratitude was a small smile and a nod. He opened the palm of his hand, indicating that they were free to step upon the plates. Reyna and Nico casually approached the Transfer Plates, the plates that would take them back to Camp Jupiter. As she walked, Reyna looked around at the beautiful courtroom and its graceful Denizens. _This will likely be the last time I come here in peace._ Then, Reyna looked back, and noticed that Rachel had not followed them.

"Rachel," Reyna called back. "What are you doing?"

Rachel wouldn't meet her eye. She was fidgeting on the spot, and looked extremely uncomfortable. Her fists were clenched, and she closed her eyes tightly.

"Rachel!" Nico called. "What's wrong?"

A gleam lighted in Art's eye. "Is there something you'd like to say, perhaps, Miss Dare?"

Rachel stopped shaking, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Y—Yes," she stammered slowly, "there is." Slowly, she turned and faced Reyna and Nico. "I've decided…I've decided to stay."

Reyna's mouth stood agape, shocked at Rachel's decision. She looked up at Art, who sat there surprised, but happy. Then she looked back at Rachel and uttered the obvious question. "Rachel, why?"

"I'm—I'm sorry!" Rachel cried, eyes brimming with moisture. "It's just that they're right! Look at what the gods have done to our world, to our Earth. This place, the House, it's beautiful and captivating, and everyone is nice and friendly and pleasant. If Earth was left to its own devices, if it were free from the gods control, maybe it could look like this one day!"

Reyna was still shocked. She was not angry, but she was sad. "You are willing to go to war with Olympus?" she asked quietly. "You know the demigods will be tasked with stopping this effort. Are you willing to fight them, Rachel?"

"Think about all of your friends at Camp Half-Blood," Nico added. "Percy, Annabeth, Grover…you'll be fighting _against_ them."

"It doesn't have to be like that!" Rachel protested. "The demigods aren't causing any problems, they'll be left alone if they stand down. It's only the gods that need to be dealt with!"

"Rachel, please listen," Reyna begged. "I've had my own doubts too, believe me. The gods have done terrible things. But Nico and I are demigods, and you're an Oracle. We're part of their world, and we just have to live in that world and protect it."

"Not if there's a possibility of ushering in a better world," Reyna replied. Her tone was finite. "I'm so sorry, I really am, but I'm doing what I think is right."

Reyna sighed heavily and shakily. "I'm sorry too, Rachel, truly, but I'm not mad." She took another deep breath and looked Rachel in the eye. "If you really believe what you're doing is right, then it is not my place to argue. Farewell."

Nico wasn't nearly as formal. He didn't say a word, instead looking upon Rachel with a sad expression.

"Nico," Rachel called. "Please. Tell Percy and the rest that I'm sorry." The tears in her eyes began to reform.

Nico nodded, but didn't say anything, silently turning toward the transfer plate.

 _Perhaps she is right,_ Reyna thought mirthlessly. _Perhaps the world can turn out for the better_.

Shaking her head, she glanced toward Nico, who glanced back. With sadness and worry weighing on her shoulders, Reyna stepped on the Transfer Plate and left the Incomparable Gardens.


	4. Nightmares

CHAPTER 4: Nightmares

The two demigods landed exactly where they had departed from. It was still night time, and in the distance Reyna could hear the sounds of the victory feast.

"But…" she trailed off. "How is that possible?"

She saw a man a little way off, running toward the dining hall, but he must have heard them land, for he turned back with a start.

"Praetor Reyna!" the man exclaimed. Reyna realized it was the same man who had brought Nico to her. "You…you just disappeared! Into thin air!"

Reyna feigned a confused look. "What are you talking about? I went around the corner to show Rachel Dare to her building with Nico here."

The man continued to gape. "There was a flash of light!" he insisted. "All three of you vanished!"

"Rudy, relax," Reyna said calmly. "You must have been a bit dizzy. Vanishing into thin air? That's not possible. Just forget about it, that's an order."

"But, oh, very well, praetor." The man went back in the opposite direction of the feast, scratching his head.

"Nice save," Nico commented, "but why lie? We should be telling everyone about what we just saw and the imminent threat to the gods."

"I know," Reyna admitted. "I just…I just don't have the heart to do that right now."

"I know," Nico sympathized. "I feel the same."

The two stood there in silence for a few moments, each wrapped in their own thoughts and misgivings.

"You know what?" Reyna said suddenly. "We can deal with that tomorrow. Tonight, there is a feast, and I could really use it."

Nico smiled. "What are we waiting for?"

The two began walking at a leisurely pace toward the dining hall.

"That guy that came up to you just now," said Nico. "He acted as if we were only gone for a few seconds."

"I was thinking the same thing," Reyna replied in a musing tone. "I wonder…perhaps time runs differently in the House, do you think?"

Nico shrugged. "Anything is possible, I guess. Time travel and time flow make my head hurt, so let's leave it at that. If we _were_ only gone for a few seconds, let's count ourselves lucky."

Reyna nodded in agreement just as the two stepped into the light of the dining hall. As soon as they did Hazel nearly jumped into the air.

"Nico!" she exclaimed. The centurion bounded over and enveloped Nico in a hug, forgetting for a moment that Nico wasn't very fond of hugs.

"Hazel," Nico groaned, "I just saw you yesterday."

"Still," Hazel insisted, releasing her brother from her grasp. "Oh, come one, it wasn't that bad of a hug."

Nico sighed and gave a weary smile.

"So, what brings you here?" Frank asked, sipping a drink from his seat.

"It seems I forgot these medallions back at Camp Half-Blood," said Reyna, gesturing toward the medallions around her neck. Her eyes fluttered in surprise when she saw that they were back to their usual golden state, but no one noticed.

"You shadow-traveled here?" Hazel asked, incredulous. "You know how dangerous that is in your condition!"

"Relax, I took an airplane," Nico replied.

"You still shouldn't have traveled here," Hazel chided. Her face lightened. "Though I am happy to see you."

"Noted," said Nico. "Now, unless you have any more complaints to throw my way, I'm going to sit down and eat."

"And I am going to follow your lead," Reyna said. The praetor sat down in her seat next to Frank and placed an order with an Aura. If anyone looked askance at her for getting a second meal in what they perceived as a few minutes after her first, Reyna didn't care. In a few minutes her food arrived, and she ate happily away.

The feast lasted about twenty minutes longer or so. Even though Reyna had returned, she allowed Frank to make the victory toast anyway, since he was the one who still believed war and fighting were behind them. As the legionnaires were raising their cups in celebration, Reyna did so with a muted disposition, and Nico bore a dark look on his face. Very soon after that it was time for bed, and the dining hall slowly emptied out. Hazel volunteered to walk Nico to his room, leaving Reyna free to walk alone to her quarters in the Via Principalis.

She reached the praetors' quarters as the same time as Frank, and quickly bade him good night, turning left to her side of the quarters. Reyna collapsed upon her bed, but suddenly the tiredness vanished from her bones. She lay on her bed wide awake, remembering the nightmares from the last time she had fallen asleep.

Often, Reyna was forced to bury her fears and emotions under a mask of confidence and strength for the sake of the legion. The Romans needed a fearless leader, one who could guide them through the darkest and toughest of times, and Reyna was always one to do what was needed. Now, however, alone in her room, she was free to let her true feelings show, and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking with fright and anxiousness. Fright from the nightmares themselves, and fright from what she might do because of them.

* * *

Arthur Penhaligon sat in a small room in Sunday's Elysium, toying with a half-full backpack. The pack contained all of the supplies that they would need for their quest. It wasn't much, since they were only supposed to bring in one god at a time, but there was still a bunch of essentials, in case one particular god took more than one day to catch.

As far as Arthur knew, the pack contained a small amount of food (knowing the Denizens of the House, it would be biscuits), a change of clothing, and a small magazine full of corny jokes (on Suzy's insistence). Arthur also knew that before he departed, Art would give him a set of chains. According to the New Architect, they were an exact replica of the chains used on the Old One back in the old House. No god would be getting out of those.

Arthur shuddered. This entire task left a bad feeling in his mouth. He simply did not like the idea of capturing anyone by surprise and dragging them against their will, the task made him feel sly, and even dirty. But, on the other hand, Arthur knew firsthand how much trouble immortal interference could be. Last year, Grim Tuesday had sent his tiny grotesques onto Earth, who managed to nearly deplete the Penhaligon bank account and send the world economy into a death spiral. If these Greek gods were doing these kinds of things on a daily basis, then they had to be captured and brought to the House, even if Arthur didn't like it.

Arthur also did not like that he had been roped into another adventure by the higher-ups in the House. As much as he liked the House, he had had his fill of adventure for a lifetime, a certainly didn't need to be out chasing gods like a rat catcher. Still, he knew that this too could not be helped, for interference by Denizens of the House tended to have disastrous effects for Earth, such as disease and the aforementioned economic crisis. Having Suzy and Fred come along was deemed to be okay, but just barely. If it wasn't for Suzy and Fred's unwavering insistence that they join, Arthur was sure that Art would've denied them.

There was a knock at the door, bringing Arthur out of his internal thoughts. "Come in," he called.

The door opened slightly, and a bunch of fuzzy read hair poked into the room. It took Arthur a second or two to register a face with all of that hair, but he soon recognized the new girl, the one that had decided to stay after all, Rachel, he thought her name was.

"Hi," Rachel said nervously. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, of course not," Arthur replied politely. He moved his pack and slid over, giving Rachel ample room on the bed to sit down. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not really," Rachel admitted, sitting on the bed with a huff. "I've just been aimlessly wandering this Elysium, I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Not at all," Arthur assured her. "I hope you haven't been bored this entire time."

"There's a lot to look at here," said Rachel. "A whole assortment of items and oddities. It's strange, some of them even seem like they came from Earth."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Lord Sunday keeps his favorite keepsakes in this place. The Gardens are sort of like his sanctuary." An abrupt sadness panged at Arthur. His mother, Emily, had been one of those keepsakes, and she died because of it.

"Strange," Rachel muttered, deep in thought. "Still, the Gardens truly deserve their title of Incomparable. I haven't seen a more beautiful place in all my life."

"Oh, you haven't even seen the half of it," said Arthur. "There's Doorstop Hill, Monday's Dayroom, Saturday's Tower, it's a bit overwhelming, actually, but marvelous."

Rachel smiled enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see it all! I'm a painter, you know, and there's so much here that I can paint. It's just too bad I don't have the time though…"

Rachel's eyes grew clouded. Arthur knew she was thinking about the impeding quest. "Don't worry," he told her. "We'll get back soon, with a god in our hands or not."

"My friends…I hope they don't hate me too much," Rachel murmured.

"You're doing what you think is right," said Arthur gently. It was a bit strange, trying to comfort a complete stranger, but he supposed he'd better get to know her better if they're going to be adventuring together.

"I suppose you're right," Rachel sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this, to be honest."

At that moment the door swung open, and Suzy Turquois Blue barged in.

"Suzy!" Arthur protested. "You didn't even knock!"

A puzzled look crossed Suzy's face. She went over to the open door and banged on it twice. "Like that?"

Arthur shook his head, smiling despite himself. "Don't make me regret telling Art to abolish washing Piper's Children between the ears, Suzy."

"I ought to wash _you_ between the ears for sayin' that," Suzy replied brashly. She sat down next to Rachel. "I'm sorry you'll have to be dealing with him this whole trip."

"Oh, um, it's fine," Rachel replied, hands on her lap. "So, Suzy, you're the second-in-command in this whole House?"

"You bet!" Suzy answered happily. "I used to be Lady Sunday, but that got boring and all, so I took it up a notch or two! I'm also a general in the Army of the Architect."

"Self-styled general," Arthur corrected.

"Not important," said Suzy dismissively. "Anyway, I was sent here to tell ya something, Arthur, but I forgot what it was."

"We're leaving in a few minutes," said Leaf, entering the room through the open door.

"Ah, that's it!" said Suzy.

Arthur looked astounded. "What does it take for you people to knock?"

Suddenly Fred appeared from the hallway, banging the door twice before entering. "Like that?"

"Forget I said anything," said Arthur blandly. "I see the House hasn't changed one bit."

"And that bothers you?" Leaf asked with a smile.

Arthur thought about it. Most of everything was the same. The lack of organization, the harum-scarum manner in which things were done, the Denizens, they were all mostly the same. "No," he finally replied with a grin, "I guess it doesn't."

* * *

With a long, awful moan, Reyna opened her eyes. She had had a horrible night's sleep. Every hour she had woken up, nightmares plaguing her slumber. They had all started differently, but had ended the same, with the screams of mortals, men, woman, and children, and with blood and death. Earthquakes, hurricanes, famines, battles, wars, all the result of some scuffle or grudge between the gods up above.

An hour in fitful sleep, an hour awake, that was how her night was split until dawn broke and the legion woke. Grunting, Reyna stumbled out of bed, feet landing on the floor with a thud. Her dogs, Aurum and Argentum, leaped to her expectantly, but she brushed them aside. She didn't have the time or energy to play with them now.

Forgetting in her tiredness to get ready, Reyna sloppily donned her purple cloak and stepped out of her room and out of the Via Principalis. New Rome and the dining hall were quite far, but it was time for breakfast, and the entire legion was slowly trickling in that direction. She received some odd glances from the legionnaires who saw her, but she barely noticed them. Nor did Reyna realize the reason why they were staring, her hair was a rat's nest, her cloak was on backwards, and she looked genuinely miserable.

Out of the corner of her eye, the praetor saw somebody approach her. Upon closer inspection, the person was revealed to be Hazel, a concerned look on her face.

"Good morning, praetor," she said hesitantly.

"Good morning," Reyna muttered in reply. Her voice was dull and raspy, like a sad, old woman's.

"Reyna," Hazel said quietly in her ear. "Is everything alright? You look…disheveled."

"I'm fine," Reyna replied firmly.

Hazel took a step back. "You know you can tell me if anything's bothering you, right? We're friends."

"I said I'm fine," Reyna snapped irritably. Her tone of voice changed drastically, suddenly morphing to a begging tone. "Please, just leave me alone."

The amount of concern on Hazel's face seemed to increase, but she did as Reyna asked. The strange glances turned into outright stares, but Reyna continued to ignore them.

 _So much suffering_ , she thought as she walked, the nightmares still utterly clear in her mind. _So many tears_.

The dining hall was loud with conversation when she entered, and was as quiet as a funeral parlor by the time she sat down. The legion's praetor, their fearless, confident praetor, looked hellish and miserable. It was enough to shock the hall into silence. A few of the legionnaires even had their mouths open.

Reyna briefly scanned the room, taking in all of the stares, and then dismissed them immediately. For the first time since becoming praetor, she was not concerned with her image. She would feel however she felt and anyone who had a problem could go rot in Tartarus.

She stopped her scanning when her eyes came upon Nico, standing on the opposite side of the hall, alone in a corner. His face bore an expression that was dark even for him. His glower looked like it had the power to blast through walls, and Reyna was sure that Nico desperately wanted to blast some walls right now, such was his look.

Reyna began to move in his direction, and slowly the sounds of conversation returned to the room. The voices were hushed, though, whispering about the most immediate source of wonder and gossip. Reyna knew that they were talking about her, but she continued to not care.

Nico didn't even realize that Reyna was walking toward him until Reyna arrived. His head perked up, and he regarded her with a curt nod.

"I see you didn't sleep last night either," the son of Hades said. "To busy thinking?"

"Nightmares," Reyna replied, shuddering shortly thereafter. "Nightmares more terrible than I have ever experienced." Reyna then gave Nico an overview of her dreams, the details still vivid in her mind. She kept out as much detail as she could, both for the sake of brevity and to avoid reexperiencing the nightmares all over again.

"That's bad," Nico finally said when Reyna had finished.

"Believe me, I know," Reyna agreed, shuddering once again. "I knew the gods could be selfish and greedy, but that they had the capacity for such _evil_ , I knew not."

"I know," said Nico. "Look, I've been thinking of…you know…"

Reyna looked at Nico, slightly awed. "You think we should join what they're doing?" Reyna knew that Nico would know quite well who she meant by 'they.'

"I…I don't know," Nico admitted. "But the idea sounds more alluring than before. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense."

"After what I've seen, it makes a lot of sense," Reyna replied. "But, for our entire lives, we've been fighting for the gods. We've sacrificed so much, and now you want to betray them?"

Nico's glower returned. "What have the gods ever done for me?" he declared darkly. "Ever since they came into my life they've made me miserable! It took three years for anyone at either camp to accept me!"

"I understand that," said Reyna quickly. "But now you've moved past that. You're part of the demigod family now. You would betray the legion? Camp Half-Blood?"

Reyna knew that Nico hated physical touch, and so was surprised when Nico reached out and touched her shoulder. "Reyna," he whispered. "It was the gods who betrayed the camps. How many demigods have died fighting for them?"

Suddenly, the dining hall felt emptier than ever before. Reyna finally noticed how thin the crowd was, thin because of all of the demigods who had lost their lives in the war with Gaea. So many empty seats, so many lost demigods. Kids and teenagers, people who had full, long lives ahead of them, cut down in the prime of their lives.

It seemed to Reyna as if their ghosts occupied the room. The empty spaces were suddenly filled by grey apparitions of the deceased demigods, but they were not chatting or sitting merrily. No, they were staring directly at her, their eyes carrying a brutal accusation that pierced Reyna's heart. _You failed us_ , they seemed to say, _you let us die_.

And that's what finally broke her.

"Nico," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "we have to go. We have to bring down the gods. We have to!"

"I know," Nico replied soothingly, stroking Reyna's cheek. "I know."


	5. Mission Accepted

CHAPTER 5: Mission Accepted

 _I am going mad_ , Reyna thought to herself as she stood with Nico in the corner of the dining hall. _I am going completely mad_. Nico continued to try and soothe her, but it wasn't helping. Reyna just continued to shake, images of dead demigods flashing through her mind.

She had finally given in. For the past day, Reyna had been building a wall against the sudden urges brought about by her meeting with Art. She kept telling herself that she was a daughter of a goddess, that she couldn't betray the legion that she couldn't abandon her friends. But as time wore on, and the cruelty of the gods became more apparent through nightmare and daydream, the wall of defense slowly crumbled, until she suddenly realized that she would have to work to bring the gods to justice for the sake of the world, even if it meant abandoning her camp.

"We should go," Nico whispered in her ear.

"How?" Reyna asked, starting to calm down. "We have no way of reaching the House."

"Shh!" Nico urged. "We can't have people hear us. Let's go to the Field of Mars, it ought to be empty by now."

Reyna nodded silently, completely composed. Now that she had made up her mind she found it easier to think clearly. She followed Nico quietly out of the dining hall, doing her best to seem inconspicuous. The streets of New Rome were busy, but not more than usual, and it wasn't strange for Reyna to be out and about in New Rome, so she was spared any strange looks.

In only a few minutes' time, for the two walked quickly, Reyna and Nico were standing on the empty Field of Mars. The engineers had recently finished working on the field for a scheduled War Game that night. The field was barren, save for several trenches dug in the earth, and several small pools of water.

"Okay, now what?" Reyna asked impatiently. "Nico, we have to go while we're alone."

"I know that," Nico replied evenly, trying to keep calm. "Let me think for a second."

The field was still quiet and empty, but Reyna knew it wouldn't last that way for long. People would be leaving the dining hall soon, returning from breakfast, and would begin their daily activities. They had to leave while the legion was all in one place, or they'd never be able to get away.

Suddenly, Reyna's eyes widened as she thought of an idea. "Of course!" she exclaimed, smacking herself in the forehead. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"What?" Nico asked.

"Quickly, Nico, what day is it today?" Reyna asked hurriedly.

"Today? Friday, I think." Then his eyes widened as well. "Oh, I see. Do you think she'll come?"

"If she hears us, and Art tells her to, then yes," said Reyna. Then she turned and looked up at the sky, thinking that that was the best place to look. "Lady Friday," she announced loudly and clearly. "Please, if you want us to join this quest of Art's, please come onto Earth and help us!"

Nothing broke the silence of the Field of Mars.

Nico looked sullen. "Well, I guess that didn't work."

Suddenly one of the nearby lakes began to shimmer.

"You always speak to soon," Reyna told Nico, a smirk on her face. The shimmering pool began to glow brighter, until Reyna had to avert her eyes. When Reyna looked back, a tall figure was climbing out of the pool, completely dry. It was Lady Friday, exactly as they had seen her the night before. She walked toward them, a smile on her face.

"So, this is your camp," she said when she finally reached them. "It looks simply amazing! I bet there are so many things to experience in this place." Her eyes suddenly glowed with a thirsty look that neither Reyna nor Nico understood.

"Uh, okay," Nico replied.

"I suppose we can't stay, though." Friday's look turned slightly sour. "In the olden days, I wouldn't have been able to resist so many experiences, but when I was recreated it was with a lesser amount of…whatever it was. Anyways, let's go, you two. Art won't let me have the Fifth Key for long." She began walking toward the pool she had come out of, Reyna and Nico following.

"That mirror is a key?" Nico asked, looking at the small mirror Friday bore.

"Yes, it's a very powerful object," Friday replied. "Each demesne in the House is ruled by a Key. Art currently owns all of the Keys, he only lent it to me so that I could get you."

The three arrived at the pool. Friday held the mirror in her hand, which began to glow. The pool began to glow as well, and Friday, Reyna and Nico stepped into it.

In a few seconds, Reyna found herself emerging from a mirror in a hallway in Sunday's Elysium. Friday was already standing there, and Nico was right after Reyna. It seemed to be dawn in the Incomparable Gardens, as the sky was lit with a soft, white light.

"Fourth door on the left," Friday directed, pointing down the hallway. "Art told me he already had your packs set up. You'll be heading out soon."

"Got it," said Reyna. "And, thank you."

A thoughtful look crossed Friday's face. "Catching a god," she mused. "That must be a splendid experience. The adrenaline, the fear, the sweet taste of victory or the sour taste of defeat." She smiled suddenly. "I suppose you'll have to tell me about it when you get back. Good luck!"

Leaving Lady Friday behind, Reyna and Nico turned in the direction that she had pointed them in. A sudden nervousness blossomed in Reyna's gut. She wasn't prepared to leave so soon, she was hoping for a few hours to let her hard decision settle in. Instead, she'd be thrown right into it. Her treachery of the gods would begin now.

But she wasn't completely unprepared. She had been thinking about certain things, and had come up with a few things to present to Art before they left. Feeling a sudden ray of confidence, Reyna opened the fourth door on the left and walked into the room, back straight and shoulders proud.

Six sets of eyes turned to greet her as she and Nico walked in. There was Arthur, whose face bore a small smile, Leaf, who looked genuinely taken aback, and Fred, who maintained a professional but pleasant demeanor. Art was expecting them, of course, and Suzy Turquois Blue wore a rebellious grin, though she always looked like that. The reaction that warmed Reyna's heart the most, of course, was Rachel Elizabeth Dare's who jumped up in surprise.

"Reyna! Nico! You're here!" Her expression morphed from surprise, to glee, to confusion in the span of two seconds. "What are you guys doing here? I thought…"

"We changed our minds," Nico replied simply.

"Well, that's great! I'm glad," Rachel said. She didn't pry into Nico's answer, but Reyna sensed that Rachel had noticed the stormy look that accompanied Nico's reply.

"Excellent," said Art. He was standing before the five others, ready to send them off. "I, too, am glad that you have decided to rejoin this venture."

"Not so fast," Reyna interjected, holding up a hand. "Nico and I have some conditions, before we join."

Art raised his eyebrows. "Very well. Let's hear them."

Nico gave Reyna a questioning look, but Reyna ignored him. "First, our parents," Reyna began. "The goddess Bellona and the god Hades will be spared from capture."

"Impossible," Art replied right off the bat. " _All_ of the gods must be brought to the House, where they will no longer be able to inflict damage upon the world."

Art's sternness did not daunt Reyna. "You expect us to aid in the capture of our own parents? To stand by while you destroy them?" she demanded, taking a step closer.

Art glanced at the five seated people, then looked back at Reyna, confused. "I'm afraid we have mistaken each other, Miss Ramirez-Arellano," he said. "None of the gods will be destroyed. They will be brought here to the House, where they will stand trial for their crimes. If they are found guilty, then they will be punished according to the severity of their crimes. If they are found innocent, they will have to remain in the House, but will be allowed to move freely within it. That's how this is going to work, Reyna."

"So we're like cops," Nico said. "We're arresting the gods, and you will put them on trial."

"Um…" Art trailed off, looking in Arthur's direction.

"Yes," said Arthur. "That's pretty much how this will work. And Art, do yourself a favor and learn a thing or two about my world, please."

Art stuck out his tongue, which looked strange for a twelve-foot Denizen.

"If that is the case," Reyna continued, "then you at least will grant Bellona and Hades a pardon for any crimes they may have committed, in your eyes. Give them freedom of the House for all time, I'm sure there are enough things in this House to keep them occupied."

"Fine," Art agreed. "Their crimes weren't so bad anyway. It's really that Zeus…"

"Next," Reyna interjected, deciding to strike while the iron was hot, "I want a guarantee that you will _not_ punish the demigods of either Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood for anything. I want a guarantee that they will be able to continue with their lives through and beyond this."

Art looked astounded. "Punish them? But they are the primary victims of the gods' cruelty! Of course they shall not be punished. As for their lives…well, when you finish, all of mythology will be gone from Earth. The camps will no longer be able to function as magical demigod camps, there's nothing really I can do."

Reyna looked horrified. "But…but, can't you do something?"

"Reyna," Nico said, "come on. You knew that this would be the case. There's no point in arguing."

Reyna still wanted to protest some more, but she knew that Nico was right. "Fine," she acquiesced sadly. "Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood will cease to function, but can you at least keep the structures intact. Non-magical, yes, but intact?"

Art's look softened. "That shouldn't be a problem," he agreed. "Though in return I ask that the demigods be ready to serve as witnesses against the gods if need be in the upcoming trials."

"Agreed," said Reyna.

"And one more thing," Art added grimly. "This quest may pit you against some of your demigod friends. I need you to guarantee that you not hesitate to fight them if it is necessary to complete the quest."

Reyna wanted to protest this as well, but Nico gave her a sad but stern look, and she knew that she should have expected this as well. She nodded, not having the heart to give a vocal reply.

"Excellent," said Art. "I think we're all set to go here."

"It's about time," Suzy complained, head in her hands. "I think I've been twiddling my thumbs for the past decade."

Art paused long enough to spare Suzy a glare, then returned to addressing the group. "You are all about to embark upon this mission to arrest the gods and bring them to justice. You'll start with the easy ones, if you can really call them easy, and work your way up to the more powerful ones. Once all of the Olympians are captured, the minor gods should fall in line. They will be pardoned in exchange for testimony against the Olympians."

"Swell," said Suzy dully. "Can we go?"

Art's eyebrow began to twitch. "I'll have you start with the god Apollo," he continued. "He's got enough vanity to fill this room. If you take him by surprise, you should be able to get him. Arthur, do you have the chains?"

Arthur nodded, digging into his pack and pulling out a chain that flickered with a supernatural blue light. Reyna had never seen such chains before, but if they were to be used to capture an immortal god, she was sure that they contained great power.

"Good," said Art. "Well, I suppose there is nothing else to it. Good luck, and stay safe. Sneezer will escort you to the Dials, which will take you to where you need to be."

At that moment, a strange man in a butler's outfit entered the room, bowing low to Art as soon as he did so.

"Sneezer!" Suzy exclaimed. "Your shirt's on backwards!"

Confused, Sneezer tried to twist his head to glance at the back of his shirt, and shrugged his shoulders when he couldn't get his head fully around.

"Suzy Blue, we have no time for this foolishness," Art said patiently. "Besides, I thought you were the one who wanted to leave so badly?"

Suzy stuck her tongue out, straightened her top hat, and marched toward a door in the back of the room. Sneezer and the rest followed her. Reyna and Nico exchanged confused glances, but said nothing.

The door in the back of the room led to an even stranger room. In the room's center, standing in a circle, were seven grandfather clocks. On the floor between them, seven clock hands lay in all different directions.

"The Seven Dials," Arthur announced, noticing Nico, Reyna, and Rachel's astonished glances. "They can take us anywhere in the Secondary Realms, and it's safer than the other modes of transportation available here."

"Just one moment!" called Sneezer. "I'll have it set in a minute…ah! We're ready!"

From the door, Art gave them a final wave and closed the door.

 _So, this is it_ , Reyna thought grimly. _The quest against the gods._

The room began to glow bright white. Reyna began to silently pray to her mother, Bellona, for guidance and forgiveness, as a whooshing sound flew through the room. Reyna closed her eyes as the Seven Dials opened up a path to Earth, beginning the quest against Olympus.

* * *

"She's nowhere to be found, praetor," reported Dakota. His voice was formal, but he was unable to keep the quivering dismay from his words.

"Have you searched everywhere?" Frank asked firmly, his knuckled tightening on the armrests of his chair.

Dakota nodded grimly. "The entire camp, from top to bottom. She's not here, and neither are Nico di Angelo nor Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

Frank suppressed a depressed sigh. The legion had finally returned home from war, a war that they'd won, and already a new crisis had come upon them. The new praetor felt like burying his face in a pillow and staying there, but, as praetor, he knew he had to keep a strong front and face this challenge with the unwavering strength required of a leader.

"Assemble the legion," Frank ordered evenly. "Every last legionnaire will be orderly assembled in front of the Principalis in ten minutes."

"Yes, Praetor Zhang," Dakota replied, leaving hastily to carry out the order.

As soon as he left, Frank stood and began to frustratingly pace the room. He had been in the dining hall with everyone else, and had seen Reyna's clear state of agitation that morning. It had rattled him on the inside, he had never seen Reyna so…disheveled.

He cursed himself for not going to talk to her right then and there. Part of him wanted to. Praetors were supposed to not only support the legion, but support each other, and Reyna was in clear need of support. But he had simply figured that everyone was allowed one bad day, and decided to leave Reyna alone.

No one at camp had seen her since.

Straightening his back, Frank left his room and made his way out into the evening air. It had only been three minutes since Dakota left, but he found the legion in its entirety assembled before him in an orderly manner, centurions at the heads of their respective cohorts.

Frank took a moment to survey the legion—his legion—before beginning to speak.

"Twelfth Legion," he began. "When I became praetor, I promised myself that I would always be honest and straightforward, and I'm going to keep that promise right now." He paused. "Reyna, your praetor, has gone missing." He paused again for gasps and murmurs that didn't come. "Praetor Reyna," he continued slowly, "has done more for this legion than anyone standing here. This goes without saying, but we will do everything in our power to find her."

Frank took a few steps toward the legion, posture still straight and commanding. "Centurions!" he called, voice clear and crisp. "Divide your cohorts into two search parties, and then come to me to receive your assignments. It's time to bring Reyna home."


	6. Trickery and Bedevilment

PART TWO: ARREST

CHAPTER 6: Trickery and Bedevilment

When the bright light died down, the odd group of seven, consisting of demigods, Denizens, oracles, Rightful Heirs, and plant parts, was able to make out its surroundings. They were on the shores of a large body of water, a lake, to be specific, for the water was still and surrounded on all sides. The lands surrounding the lake was mostly dry desert, though across the water stood the tall buildings of a city. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a reddish light on the landscape.

Leaf squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the light. _Where have we ended up now?_ She asked herself. She knew they must be back on Earth, that was where Apollo was, but she didn't have the slightest clue where on the large planet they were.

"I think I know where we are," Rachel announced in a timely manner. "I've been to this place with my dad before. Salt Lake City, I think."

"So then this is the Salt Lake?" Fred asked. Leaf had to remind herself that he wasn't from Earth and didn't know better.

"One way to find out," remarked Suzy. She casually walked over to the lakeshore, cupped her hand in the water, pulled it out, and drank. "Yep! That's salty!"

Arthur's forehead creased. "Why would Art send us here?" he asked, puzzled.

"He said we'd be taken to where we'd need to be," Reyna mused. "That means Apollo must be on his way here."

"That makes sense," Nico added. "Apollo probably stops his sun chariot here to rest before doing the final lap of his journey to sunset."

"Okay," Leaf groaned, "enough with the mythology for a few minutes, please. It's making my head spin." The fact that the Greek gods existed was still new information to her, and it still shocked her. _If this is my reaction to hearing about the gods, what will I do when one actually shows up?_

"Well, all we have to do is wait," said Nico. "Oh boy, when Will finds out about this…"

Reyna put a comforting hand on Nico's shoulder. Leaf decided to stay out of it. She had no business in the lives of people she barely knew.

"Oh, _you're_ nervous," Rachel muttered. "I'm his Oracle. He's going to _kill_ me."

Leaf glanced over to Arthur, Suzy, and Fred, who all wore muted worried expressions. Leaf knew what they were thinking, that they hoped their three companions weren't getting second thoughts. It would take all seven of them to take down Apollo.

"We should make a plan," Arthur suggested quickly, in an attempt to get everyone back on board.

Reyna looked up and nodded. Leaf could tell that she was a leader of sorts, and an organized one at that, so the idea of a plan must've been appealing to her.

"What do you have in mind, Arthur?" Fred asked. He stood ready at attention, like a private in an army.

"Uh, nothing too complicated," Arthur replied slowly. "I just thought that you three could distract Apollo while I chain him up." He pointed at Rachel, Reyna, and Nico.

"We won't be able to hold Apollo down for that long," Nico protested. "He's a god, remember?

"We won't need that long," said Arthur. He pulled out the chain from his pack. "It's magic," he explained. "All I have to do it touch the chain to him and say a line or two. _In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you_. Or something like that, anyway."

"That still will take too long," said Reyna. "He can vaporize us in an instant."

Arthur sighed. "Well, we have to get this chain on him somehow."

Leaf pondered the situation in her head. _He's got enough vanity to fill this room,_ Art had said. That made her wonder…

"Wait," Leaf spoke up suddenly. All eyes immediately turned to her. "Apollo, Art said he'd very vain, right?"

"Believe me," Rachel scoffed, "'vain' doesn't even describe it."

"Well, it's simple then," Leaf said in a satisfactory tone. "We'll use his weakness against him, his vanity will be his downfall."

Reyna raised a brow. "How do you wish to accomplish that?" she asked.

"I have a plan," Leaf replied. At least she thought she did. "We just need someone who's brash enough to challenge an all-powerful deity."

All eyes turned to Suzy Turquois Blue. "What?" she asked. "Brash? Me?"

Leaf walked up to Suzy and put a hand on her shoulder. "Suzy, how would you like to scuffle with the sun god?"

* * *

Ten minutes later, all of the pieces were in place. To the west, Arthur, Leaf, and Fred sat hiding behind some large rocks. A few feet away, toward the lakeshore, the others stood waiting, eyes trained on the eastern sky. Reyna was pacing back and forth, grim determination set in her expression. Rachel was sitting on the ground, taking deep, calming breaths, while Nico seemed to be glaring at the sky. Leaf did not think joy ever came easily onto that kid's face.

As for Suzy, she was standing straight as an arrow, arms crossed. Leaf had no doubt that a grin adorned her face, despite the nerve-inducing circumstances. She began to nonchalantly search through her many layers of tattered clothing as if looking for something important. Leaf wondered what she was up to.

Next to her, the chain of the Old One rattled in Arthur's hands. Leaf had never actually seen the Old One chained before. The only time she had seen the Old One was when he was unbound in the Incomparable Gardens, ready to rejoin with the Architect. From what Leaf saw, though, the Old One was immensely powerful. If that chain could restrain him, they could restrain anybody.

"Are you sure you have the right spell?" Leaf asked Arthur. "You'll only get one chance."

"One chance is all I'll need," Arthur assured her. "Besides, that stupid spell rhymes. If it's a bad rhyme, it's likely a magic spell of House magic."

"But not all House spells are rhymes," said Leaf, confused.

"He didn't say that," Fred pointed out. "He said the other way around. I learned to look out for that since general school."

"General school?"

"General school," Fred confirmed. "You learn all sorts of important things there. The best way to guide troops through abandoned villages, the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning, you know, the important stuff."

"You guys ought to quit this ridiculous conversation of yours," Arthur interrupted, pointing at the sky. "I think he's coming."

Sure enough, when Leaf looked to the sky herself, she could see a small gleam heading toward them. The gleam seemed to have detached itself from the setting sun behind them, yet it strangely still managed to approach from the east. As the brightening gleam grew closer, Leaf was forced to shield her eyes. When the brightness suddenly vanished, Leaf uncovered her eyes to gaze upon the scene before her.

Parked a few feet from Rachel's position on the ground was a beautiful, red car, with an engine humming as loud as a lion. The paint was sleek and modern, and the car itself was very high-tech. Leaf watched in wonder as the rooftop slowly slid toward the back of the car (yes, it was a convertible, too), revealing the person inside.

He was tall, Leaf observed, not as tall as the average superior Denizen, but still quite tall. He had long, flowing hair, bright blonde, that curled messily down to his shoulders. His skin was perfectly tanned, not too dark but not even close to pale. For a god, he was dressed quite normally, in ragged jeans and a red shirt that matched the color of the setting sun, along with sunglasses. The only thing that was out of place was the bow and quiver that he bore, which was the only thing about him that added to Leaf's concerns.

"Wow," said Fred quietly from behind the rock, "he _is_ vain."

Fred was right, Leaf noted, his vanity was quite obvious. The way he sat in complete control of his luxurious car, the way he wore those sunglasses so casually, he seemed to be saying, _Yes, I'm awesome, and I_ do _know it_.

"What's the sun god doing in a Maserati?" Arthur asked abstractly.

Fred looked at him quizzically. "A Mazer Ratty?"

"Never mind," Arthur replied quietly. "Just stay low and keep quiet, until an opportunity presents itself."

As soon as the convertible rooftop was completely retracted, Apollo opened the car door and stepped outside. "Rachel!" he exclaimed immediately. "How great to see you! I wasn't expecting such a surprise!"

Rachel smiled, doing a good job at hiding the fact that she was about to betray him. "My Lord Apollo," she greeted formally. While Rachel was at the House, she had told everyone about her position as Apollo's Oracle, so Leaf understood the formality.

"And who have you brought with you?" the sun god asked, turning to her companions. "Ah! Nico di Angelo. I'm glad you're finally getting to see my sun chariot in its true glory. That school bus form is hideous."

"Um, yes," Nico agreed. "Quite hideous."

Apollo turned to Reyna. "And Praetor Ramirez-Arellano. I heard you are very strong on the battlefield."

Reyna's face was as expressionless as stone. "I thank you for your praise, Lord Apollo," the praetor replied.

Apollo inclined his head. "So," he began, turning his attention back to Rachel, "what brings you here? This area is usually deserted."

"We were in town," Rachel explained, "and I know that you sometimes stop here. My friend Suzy over there wanted to meet you."

Rachel gestured toward Suzy, who was now sitting on a small rock a yard away. "Oi!" she greeted. "'Ow are ya?"

Apollo frowned. "A mortal who can see through the Mist? That's very rare and unusual."

"It's been known to happen," said Rachel, slightly miffed at being easily forgotten.

"I've heard tons of great things about you," Suzy commented, getting off her boulder. "I hear you play great music, and that you make the best head colds, skin rashes, sore throats, and sniffles that can be found anywhere!"

Apollo's smile returned, clearly basking in the praise. "Well, all of that is true, of course. I am _quite_ amazing. I have some plague arrows in the trunk if you want."

Leaf crossed her fingers. Once a Denizen started on diseases, it was very hard for them to start. She could only hope that Suzy would stick to her script.

"I've also heard," Suzy continued, "that you're dandy at wrestling."

Apollo, still smiling, opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped as a confused look flashed across his face. "Wrestling? I don't understand…in no myth have I ever _wrestled_."

Suzy shrugged innocently. "Well, I guess I was wrong. You ain't good at wrestling after all." She turned slowly and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Apollo called, almost immediately. Suzy turned around, wearing an intrigued look. "The myths may not mention it, but I actually _am_ good at wrestling. The best you've ever seen, I bet!" The sun god did his best to look smug.

"Hmm," Suzy mused. "As of now, _I'm_ the best wrestler I've ever seen. Won the championship match for my school, Lower House Junior Up."

"Junior High," Leaf muttered inaudibly. Such a mistake might make Apollo suspicious…

"Then I'll prove it to you!" Apollo declared, oblivious to Suzy's slip up. "We shall have a match right now, between the two of us!"

Suzy's eyes began to glisten. "Fine!" she retorted smugly. "I'll take you down easy! Only no magicky god stuff, it has to be a fair fight!"

Apollo responded by getting into a fighting stance. He must've thought that it would make him look more professional, but instead it looked foolish.

"Lord Apollo!" Rachel piped up. "Are you really going to fight a twelve-year-old girl?"

"Of course!" Apollo replied dismissively. "She challenged me, didn't she?"

"Yes, I did," said Suzy definitively. "Charge!"

With that declaration, Suzy Blue rushed right at Apollo, trying to take him at unawares. She partially succeeded, as Apollo was driven back a couple of feet, but he quickly recovered. The two wrestlers each pushed at each other with all of their might, trying to force the other back, and for a few seconds, there was stalemate.

Apollo, however, began to recover from the surprise charge by Suzy. He was a god, and even though he wasn't using any of his powers, he still possessed strength beyond that of any mortal, ordinary Denizen, or Piper's child. Soon Suzy was rapidly losing ground, as Apollo's strength increased and Suzy's wavered.

"You see!" Apollo yelled as he was driving Suzy back. "I am the greatest wrestler you've ever known!"

But to his utter amazement, Suzy replied with a grin. "You might be, but I've still won!"

At that exact moment, Leaf and Fred leaped out from behind the rock that Suzy now stood next to. It had all been part of the plan, to let Apollo drive her back to the rock where her friends were waiting. Apollo, truly taken off his guard, had no chance to prepare for the onrush. In an instant, Leaf and Fred were on him, and, along with Suzy, they took him to the ground.

Arthur was not far behind. As soon as they had Apollo pinned to the ground, Arthur was there, touching the chain to the god's chest. _"In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you!_ Arthur recited powerfully. As soon as he did so, the soft blue aura of the chain surrounded Apollo. The god shrieked as his two hands were chained, the other end firmly in Arthur's grasp. Standing tall and firm, Arthur continued to speak.

"I, Arthur Penhaligon, Rightful Heir to the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the god Apollo, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days."

"Wow," Fred commented, looking impressed. "Where'd you get all that?"

"Thought of it on the spot," Arthur admitted, shrugging his shoulder

"No! I will not be treated like this!" Apollo screamed. He struggled against his bonds, but he could not do a thing against them. "Rachel! Rachel, why aren't you helping me! Rachel! Reyna! Nico! Do your duty and defend Olympus and the gods!"

Rachel looked down sadly at Apollo and his struggling. She looked like she wanted to burst out crying, but she kept an even face. "I'm sorry, Apollo, truly" she said quietly, "but our duty is to the world now."

"Treason!" Apollo shouted. "You will all pay dearly for this! All of the strength of the gods and demigods will be on you like a pack of wolves!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Suzy. "If they're anything like you then this job will be tea and biscuits."

Apollo continued his loud protesting and raving, but they all ignored him.

"Okay," said Fred. "I made sure to bring a Transfer Plate with us, already programmed by Art to take us back to the House…so, are we ready?"

Everyone looked at each other. "I think so," Leaf replied, a satisfactory look on her face. "Besides, we should get Apollo back to the House before the entire city hears him."

Fred nodded, and went to go fish through his knapsack to find the Transfer Plate. Having nothing better to do, the group dispersed, each immersed in their thoughts. Leaf was doing the same, until someone showed up at her side.

"That was some nice planning you did," said Reyna. She had mixed emotions on her face, in addition to her usual stony serenity. "I didn't initially peg you for the leader."

"I'm not," said Leaf. "A leader, that is. Arthur was the nominal leader back during the war with the Morrow Days, I guess, but it never felt that way."

Reyna looked a bit shocked. "Then how did you succeed?"

Leaf smiled at her. "You're probably used to leading people like a well-oiled machine," she said, "and that works best in some situations. But in the House…well, the House is anything but a well-oiled machine. It's a sort of mixture of organization and chaos, and so that's how we tackled it. There was a _lot_ of chaos, but we all evenly did our part. Half of what I just said makes no sense at all, but I hope you understand now."

"Not even close," said Reyna, returning Leaf's smile with a small one of her own. She walked away, going to join her friends Rachel and Nico.

Leaf watched them with interest. She had only known them for about a day, but she could already tell that they were good, kind people. Only good, kind people would betray everything they've ever stood for in order to help the greater good. A small seed of hope formed in Leaf's gut. The group had already worked so well together, and Leaf had a feeling that their success could continue.

Fred readied the Transfer Plate, and everyone joined hands so that they'd be taken along as well. Leaf looked down the line of people and saw Arthur at the end, holding the chain to which Apollo was bound. As the flash of light beamed and Leaf was borne to the House, she realized the enormity of what had just happened. They had been successful. They had captured a god.


	7. Reunions

CHAPTER 7: Reunions

There was an air of excitement and joy over the dining pavilion that evening. It seemed at first to be like any normal dinner at Camp Half-Blood, but as soon as Percy walked into the pavilion he immediately noticed the uptick in everyone's mood. People were talking in happy tones, smiles came often to the many campers' faces, and there wasn't an ounce of sadness to be found anywhere.

Percy knew the reason why, as well. Earlier that Friday afternoon, as if out of nowhere, a giant bronze dragon had descended from the sky, two figures riding its back. Leo had finally returned to Camp Half-Blood after everyone thought he was dead from his battle with Gaea, and he had managed, in classic Leo fashion, to do something thought impossible: locate Ogygia a second time and free Calypso.

Everyone had been thrilled to see him, of course, but you wouldn't have known it by everyone's reaction to his arrival. Jason gave him a hard punch on the arm, and Piper scolded him for, oh, about an hour. And when he finally thought he was done, Annabeth had come to take Piper's place and scolded Leo some more.

Percy himself, however, had found himself unable to give Leo more than a cheerful high five. No, _he_ had to deal with meeting the immortal Titaness whom he abandoned, the Titaness whom he promised to get the gods to free, only they didn't and he failed to follow up. It's hard to be mad at someone for almost getting themselves killed when you're about to get killed yourself.

But to Percy's surprise, Calypso acted quite civil. _Very_ civil. From the way she formally shook Percy's hand and said "greetings," Percy knew that they were a long way away from friendship. Still, he was glad that he was still alive. Ah, the small victories in life.

Technically the demigods were supposed to sit at the tables corresponding to their cabin, but Percy didn't care, and neither did anyone else. He found Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo, all children of different gods, sitting at the table of Artemis, a maiden goddess. The irony brought a smile to Percy's lips.

"Percy!" Annabeth called out with a grin upon spotting her boyfriend. Percy grinned back, moving to go sit with his friends. Annabeth slide over, allowing Percy to take the seat next to her.

"Someone looks happy," Piper observed with a smile.

"Of course I'm happy," Percy returned. "I'm sitting at a table with my friends, one of which is thankfully not dead, having dinner like a normal person, a few days after we've won a major battle."

"Yeah, but it's mostly because I'm here, admit it," said Leo. He flashed a wicked smile.

"Don't make me punch you on the arm again, dude," Jason warned.

"Trust me, I won't make that mistake again," Leo replied. "I think my arm's starting to bruise."

"Serves you right," said Piper in a satisfactory tone.

"Missed you too, Beauty Queen."

Everyone at the table laughed.

"Speaking of which," said Annabeth, "where's Calypso, Leo? I thought she'd be with you."

Leo nodded his head toward the head table. "She's talking with Chiron. Probably about godly stuff or something. She'll be here soon."

"Awesome," said Jason, "I'm really happy for you, Leo."

Suddenly a loud squawk from the sky interrupted their conversation. All of the talking in the dining pavilion slowly died down, and everyone's heads turned upward.

It was hard to see the sky from under the pavilion, but Percy could just make out a large eagle swooping down from above. It circled the pavilion a couple of times, loosely spiraling toward the ground. Right before it touched the surface of the earth it turned inward toward the pavilion, landing a few feet away from Percy's table. As soon the eagle's talons touched the ground, the bird began to morph, slowly turning into a humanoid shape until Percy's friend Frank was standing inside the pavilion.

"Frank!" Percy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

A worried look began to form on Annabeth's face. Percy knew what she was thinking. Frank wouldn't be coming just for a visit; he was here not two days ago. The only reason he'd come if it's an emergency.

"We should find a private place to talk," he said softly. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

* * *

The Transfer Plate zapped Nico and his companions back to the House in no time at all. The son of Hades groaned and put his hands on his head as soon as they arrived. The Transfer had disoriented him, as usual, and his vision was blurry and unfocused. The only things he registered were the sounds of distant hustle and bustle and Apollo still swearing and threatening them.

After nearly a whole minute, Nico's mind and eyes began to clear, and he took in his surroundings. They were standing on a low, grassy hill in the middle of a plain. Above, a ceiling glowed with a soft light that could barely pass for daylight. In the distance was a city that teemed with Denizens going about their business, which was the noise that Nico was hearing. Occasionally a pillar of light would shoot up to the ceiling. Behind them, Nico noticed, was a large door of beautiful, polished wood. Amazingly, the door depicted many images that somehow shifted and changed, capturing Nico's attention and astonishing him.

"Don't look at it," warned Fred suddenly. "You might get stuck looking at it forever."

That got Nico's attention. He quickly averted his eyes and turned back to the group. "What is this place?" he asked.

"Doorstop Hill, in the Atrium of the Lower House," Suzy answered with a flourish. "Used to live here a long time ago, too, till the House got all destroyed."

"It's a very…busy place," Rachel commented.

"I know, very strange," said a voice coming from the bottom of the hill. Nico turned and saw that it belonged to Mister Monday, who was plodding toward them with Art at his side. Behind them, Monday's Noon was leading a large group of what looked like metallic automatons. Dawn and Dusk were also present.

"You're only saying that because you're used to the awful job you did when you were in charge," said Arthur to Monday.

Monday shrugged. He had bags under his eyes, and he walked a bit slower than normal, but Nico supposed it was an improvement over the last time he saw him. Nico was slightly confused. From what he'd been told, these Morrow Days were depraved and infected with sins that caused them to mess up the House and made them otherwise awful beings. But now, the Days seemed quite…normal. It was a question for another time, he decided.

"Excellent work!" Art was saying, giving them their due praise. "That could not have gone any better!"

"You!" Apollo shouted. "Are you the one who had these traitors capture me? I will visit the wrath of Olympus on your head like no one has ever seen!"

Art waved his hands. The gauntlets that he was wearing began to glow, and suddenly a piece of tape was shut over Apollo's mouth.

"Much better," said Art. "Now, I was going to give you your official notice of arrest, but it seems Arthur already did so, in excellent and proper fashion, I might add."

Apollo mumbled something incoherent through the tape.

"May we take charge of the accused?" Monday's Noon piped up from behind.

Art nodded. "Take him to the Deep Coal Cellar, but under no circumstances should you chain him to the clock. I did away with those two evil creatures for a reason; they will never torture anyone again."

"Understood, sir," said Noon. "Commissionaires, forward!"

Two of the automatons behind Noon stepped out of line and took hold of the chain from Arthur. Apollo was stubbornly sitting on the ground, refusing to move, so the Commissionaires roughly tugged the chain, pulling the god to his feet. Apollo's features were twisted in a dark rage, but, for once, he was silent.

"Won't he escape if he's not chained to something?" Leaf pointed out.

Art waved his hand dismissively. "His divine powers won't work in the House. He might as well be an ordinary person here. Plus, Noon will leave a few Commissionaires to guard the entrance to the cellar."

"I'll also have some of my Inspectors check in on him periodically," added Monday's Dawn, a beautiful Denizen with long, dark hair that contrasted well with her rosy dress. "He won't be able to escape."

"Like the Will wouldn't be able to escape under your Inspectors?" Dusk asked dryly.

"I believe that was my fault, brother," said a smiling Noon. "Come, let us go put this prisoner in the Cellar."

The three top executives to Mister Monday walked away together, the troop of Commissionaires following with Apollo in tow.

"The Deep Coal Cellar," said Rachel slowly. "He won't be in any pain, will he?"

"Just some minor discomfort, such as the cold, and dampness. Nothing more," Art answered. "If we tortured him, we wouldn't be much better than the gods, now would we."

"Oh, okay, good," said Rachel, clearly relieved.

"I think that takes care of everything for now," said Art. "You all can rest for a bit before going back out to the Realms. Oh, wait, there is one more thing!"

"Right," said Mister Monday. "Nico di Angelo, there's someone here for you."

Nico's eyes widened. "Me? But I don't know anyone here."

Monday seemed not to have heard him. "Come, I'll take you. He's in the city, I believe." Monday turned and walked back down Doorstop Hill, beckoning Nico to follow. Nico gave one glance back at his friends. Reyna and Rachel simply shrugged. Seeing nothing else to be done, Nico followed Monday.

The city was just as hectic inside as from without, Nico noticed. Hundreds of people in the streets, rushing around carrying various things, such as papers, pamphlets, and fountain pens.

"As you know, we do a lot of recording here," said Monday. "The Lower, Middle, and Upper Houses deal with records, though Saturday is too busy dabbling in sorcery to ever take up her share of the load."

"I have no idea what half of that means, but okay," said Nico. He had more important things to wonder about, like who in the world could possibly be here to see him.

Suddenly, Monday stopped walking, and Nico stopped alongside him. "What is it?" Nico asked.

Monday merely inclined his head. Nico looked in the direction that he was signaling…and his jaw dropped. There, aimlessly wandering the city, was his father, Hades.

"I'll leave you to him, now," said Monday, before turning to the right and out of sight. Nico didn't know what to say. Too many thoughts were jumbling through his head, wondering what Hades was doing in the Lower House, whether or not he was mad at his betrayal of the gods…he didn't know what to expect. So he did that smart, reasonable thing: he threw caution to the winds and walked up to his dad, having no idea what to say.

"Dad," Nico called once he was within earshot.

Hades looked up, and, to Nico's utter amazement, gave a small smile. "Nico," he replied softly. "How wonderful it is to see you."

Nico was shocked. "You…you're not mad?"

"Mad?" Hades replied. "Mad at what?"

"Mad at what?" Nico exclaimed. "I'm betraying the gods! I thought you'd be furious with me!"

Hades chuckled lightly. "Of course I'm not furious with you, Nico. On the contrary, I'm glad you're doing what you're doing.

As if Nico wasn't shocked enough. "Glad?" he asked, barely able to say the words.

Hades sniffed. "Those fools up in Olympus forced me to rule the Underworld, and they barely allowed me to leave. They got their thrones and their glory up above, while I rotted down below. They deserve what is coming to them." His eyes twinkled. "Plus, you got me immunity, didn't you? That's why I'm free, and not imprisoned in some cellar like that dolt Apollo."

A rush of relief flooded Nico. He hadn't been expecting it at all, but now that he had his father's approval, he realized that it meant a whole lot to him. Before he knew it, he was running up to his father, and he gave him a quick, tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're here, dad," Nico said. "How'd you get here? Who brought you here?"

"A fellow by the name of Friday's Noon came to the palace in the Underworld," said Hades. "A strange name for someone, I still have much to learn about this place. He simply told me that if I followed him I could leave the Underworld forever."

"And you believed him?" Nico asked, surprised. "Some random person told you that you could be free of your troubles, you didn't question him?"

"Nico, he appeared directly in my throne room in a flash of light. Anyone who manages that is powerful enough to make good on that promise. And it turned out I was right, wasn't I."

Nico nodded in agreement. The security of the Underworld was extremely tight, preventing people from sneaking in and souls from sneaking out. Slipping past was _very_ difficult, so to just pop directly into the palace of Hades was certainly an impressive feat. But thinking of the Underworld's security brought up another concern to Nico's mind.

"So, who's running the Underworld now?" Nico asked concernedly. "Will people stop dying?"

"No, of course not," said Hades. "I suppose that the Underworld will fade out of existence once this ordeal is over."

"Then what will happen to all of the souls?"

Hades shrugged his shoulders. "How could I know? I suppose they'll go somewhere else. Such knowledge is beyond me." The god of the Underworld paused, a thoughtful, serious look on his face. "All I can say for certain is that my time as king of the Underworld has come to an end."

"You seem to be taking that well," Nico observed.

"There is a reason for that," said Hades soberly. "If there is one thing all of the other gods have immense trouble realizing, it is this: Everything, no matter how big, no matter how constant, will eventually come to an end. All people, all nations, all worlds will eventually cease to exist. Even this House met its end at one point, and had to be created anew, so I'm told. All of the gods up on Olympus sit on their thrones, thinking that they'll keep them forever, but that is not, that _cannot,_ be the case. I, however, am the god of death. I witness the ending of lives every single day, so I understand the concept better than any god. I knew this day would come one day."

Nico didn't reply, unable to find words. _Everything comes to an end._ He couldn't get the words out of his head, such powerful, saddening words, yet so true. Deep down inside, Nico knew that his father was right, that the end of the gods' reign on Earth was inevitable, and now, with Nico's actions, it would become imminent.

"You know, Nico, you never told me why you did it."

Nico emerged from his own thoughts to find his father looking down on him with a curious glance. "Why I did what?" he asked stupidly.

Hades merely spread his hands, gesturing at the House around him.

"Oh…" Nico trailed off, cursing his stupidity. What else could his father be referring too?

"I'm not mad at you," Hades added hurriedly. "We already went over that, but I just want you to be sure of that."

"I know, dad, I know," Nico assured him. "I just…" he trailed off again. Nico found it hard to think of a response to his dad's question. Why did he do it? Why did he suddenly decide to join the New Architect and betray the gods? Rachel had a solid reason, her sense of justice and desire to good for the world outweighed any connection to the gods and demigods. And Reyna, her connection to her demigod comrades was so strong that the thought of their deaths drove nearly to the brink of insanity. Her reason for betrayal was to prevent more demigods dying for gods who barely acknowledged them, as far as he knew. But as for himself…

Was it some sense of justice that existed inside him? Did he betray the gods simply because he knew the horrors they'd done to the world and wanted to end them? No, that couldn't be it. He had always known the gods for what they were, and he still fought for them time and time again. It was only now that he had decided to betray them. No, he knew that wasn't the reason. His reason was much more personal than that.

"It's just," he continued slowly. "There's been so much hardship. So much loneliness. So much _pain_." Nico's voice broke, but he continued, trembling. "I know things with Gaea have ended, and I know things have started to look more hopeful, but how can I just forget all of the bad stuff. Everyone at camp has been acting as if all of the pain will just go away, as if all the pain of the past has been locked away some place that it can't hurt me anymore, but it's not true! It's still there, lurking in the back of my heart. I knew no one would understand, and I just hoped I would be able to get one anyway, that the pain would slowly ebb away. But then, a couple of days later, an opportunity presented itself to just shut the door on everything, to destroy that life once and for all, and I took it."

Nico wasn't sure his dad had understood anything he had said. All of the words kind of spilled out of him, jumbled and confused, as feelings oft are. Now he stood stooped, hands on his knees, drained of energy but feeling somewhat relieved after that confession.

"Well?" Nico mumbled. "Do you think I made a good choice?"

Hades stared contemplatively at his son. He seemed to be weighing his answer, sifting through Nico's words in an attempt to understand how his son felt. He sighed a long, weary sigh. "Nico," he said, "I haven't been much of a father to you, talking with you now has made me realize that. May I start to make it up to you with a small piece of advice?"

Nico nodded slowly, finding himself eager for his dad's help.

"As the god of death," Hades continued, "I know a lot about tragedy and trauma. What your friends at Camp Half-Blood would have you do is definitely not the right way to handle it. You cannot bottle it up in the hopes that it will go away, it won't. From what I've seen, there are two ways to deal with such trauma. Most people opt to face it directly, to talk to people and have them help them over time. You, Nico, have opted for the second route: a complete change in lifestyle. I do believe it will help, but you still shouldn't feel afraid to talk, or to face your sadness. You keep your humanity that way, that is for certain. God are unable to learn from their mistakes and move on, and sometimes I wonder whether it is because of our very nature, or our choices. Either way, look at us now."

Nico simply stared at him.

"That didn't make sense to me, either," Hades sighed.

"No, it did," Nico replied. "That was very deep. Like you said, you have a lot of experience."

"Oh, that was a lie," said Hades. "In truth, I've been watching too much _Law and Order: SVU_ lately."

"Why am I not surprised," said Nico, wondering how the almighty god of the Underworld had access to network television. "But, in all seriousness, are you someone I can turn to? You know, to talk?"

"Of course," Hades replied instantly. "You know, what I said before was a lie. There is one thing that never meets its end. Family. The world and everything in it may be fading away, but the love between family members will remain strong long after they have all passed away."

Nico grew slightly teary-eyed. "Thanks, dad," he whispered.

"Of course," Hades replied with a smile. "Now, Persephone is up in the 'Incomparable Gardens', so I'm told, likely admiring whatever flowers they have up there. Your friends have likely gone there as well, shall we join them?"

Nico nodded, and went to walk beside Hades. _No, not just Hades_ , he reminded himself. _My father_.


	8. A Not-so-Restful Break

CHAPTER 8: A Not-So-Restful Break

The elevator up to the Incomparable Gardens continued to ascend. The ride had been going on for several hours now, but the elevator was big, had numerous comfortable chairs, and featured live musical accompaniment. It was quite the relaxing ride for the group, so when the elevator finally reached its destination, Fred was a bit disappointed that he'd have to exit.

"Welcome back to the Elysium," said Art once the door closed behind them. "You will all have a few hours' rest before you go out on your next mission."

"With all due respect, Lord Art, I think I speak for the rest of us when I say that we'd like to head out as soon as possible," one of the new girls, Reyna, Fred remembered, spoke up.

The rest of the group looked at each other, and nodded their heads, including Fred. He didn't need a few hours' rest in between each small mission. He was a general in the Glorious Army of the Architect. He could go long periods of time and spend lots of energy without rest. His friend, Suzy, was a Piper's Child, and had many of the same qualities. The rest, all mortals, still looked just as eager to continue their quest.

"Very well then," Art replied with a small smile. "A half hour, and then you'll leave. In the meantime, there's tea and biscuits—"

Art was cut off as Suzy rushed past him, eager as always for tea and biscuits.

Art sighed. "I'd be cross with her, but unfortunately I'm the same way. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Art hurriedly followed Suzy toward the room with the tea.

Fred heard Arthur surpass a chuckle. "You'd think I'd be used to it by now," he muttered to himself.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a mug of tea myself," said Rachel. "Let's go guys." The group followed Rachel's lead after Suzy and Art.

As they were walking, Fred saw Arthur pull up next to him. Arthur and he had been friends for a long time. They had both been trainees in the Army at the same time, and had adventured much together. Arthur had known from the beginning of Fred's dream to become a general, and so when Arthur became Art, so to speak, and Art recreated the Universe, he had appointed Fred general, fulfilling his dream. And Fred was beyond thankful.

"You've been terribly quiet since this whole thing started," said Arthur once he got beside Fred. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh," Fred replied, "everything's quite fine. I'm merely being formal."

"Formal?"

"Yes," said Fred. "At general-training, they said that formality was a big key to being a successful general."

"They've got special training for generals?" Arthur asked him. "I suppose that makes sense. Though if general is the highest rank, who taught it?"

"I was personally trained by Sir Thursday," Fred replied with pride. "With Marshall Noon's assistance."

"Impressive," said Arthur. "But you're not around troops anymore, Fred. There's no need for formality."

Fred shrugged. "I suppose you're right. You usually are."

"Hardly," Art scoffed. "Had I been right more often, the Universe wouldn't have gotten destroyed."

"The Will would have found a way with or without you," said Fred. "You're hardly to blame."

"I was used like a puppet," Arthur countered. "Right until the very end."

"Yes, but who destroyed the Universe? Dame Primus, with unknowing help from the Morrow Days. You couldn't have possibly known her true intentions, Arthur."

Arthur sighed. "You're right. I suppose I should stop blaming myself for what happened. Thanks, Fred."

Fred inclined his head. The two continued walking along with the rest of the group. Rachel and Leaf were having a conversation, a fairly lighthearted one by the looks of it, while Reyna stared straight ahead, seemingly deep in thought. Fred was about to do the same, but was interrupted by a sudden tap on his shoulder. Fred turned, and jumped slightly in surprise at discovering that Sir Thursday himself stood before him.

Fred immediately snapped to attention. "Sir!"

"At ease," said Sir Thursday. He looked the same as he did before the freeing of the Will, but today his face was gaunt and hallow, as if his energy was completely sapped. "The rest of you can go along," he said to the others. "I will speak to my general alone."

Fred turned his head and nodded at the others, and they all turned and continued on their way. A small hint of anger flashed in Thursday's eyes, as Fred's friends had left at his signal rather than at Thursday's command, but it quickly passed. Much of Thursday's anger had dissipated since his recreation, and though his temper did flare now and then, these instances were rare, and never serious. Fred was happy to see that all of the Morrow Days were overcoming their vices. These days, Monday was asleep only half the day, Wednesday had reduced her number of daily meals to four, and Sunday actually partook in some of the administrative duties of the House, instead of deeming the work beneath him.

Once the hallway was clear, Thursday turned back toward Fred. "General Fred Gold," he began formally. "I never got a chance to speak with you before you left."

"I apologize, sir," Fred replied, "the New Architect had stressed that we leave quickly."

"No need for apologies, general," said Thursday blandly. "I merely wanted to give you the sendoff required in the Army."

Fred nodded knowingly. Before anyone in the Army was sent off on a mission, it was the duty of their immediate supervisor to give a small speech of sorts. It was merely a formality, but traditions were traditions, and the Army certainly kept its traditions.

"General Fred Gold," Thursday proceeded, "in the name of the Architect for whom we fight, may you succeed in the mission on which—what was that?"

Thursday's head immediately swiveled, senses on high alert. Fred looked startled, but was also at the ready. He himself didn't hear anything, but Thursday did, and Thursday's senses were seldom wrong.

"There's something around that corner," Sir Thursday whispered. "Weapon at the ready!"

Fred's sword was already drawn, and Thursday drew his as well. It wasn't as powerful as the Fourth Key that he used to wield, but Thursday was still deadly with a sword.

Suddenly a strange creature jumped out from behind the corner and charged at Fred and Thursday. It looked like a cross between a lizard and a crocodile, with bright green scales and razor-sharp teeth. It was fast, too, as it was nearly on Fred and Thursday a moment after it had burst from behind the corner.

As soon as the creature was within reach of Thursday's sword, he struck downward, but the sword only glanced off the creature's scales. The thing's path was altered, though, and avoided Fred. Fred was immediately at the ready, expertly hefting his sword as the creature bounded back toward him. He managed to land a whack right on the creature's head, which knocked it to the floor. Still, he was unable to pierce its tough hide.

"We must aim for its mouth!" Thursday shouted. "That is the only vulnerable point!"

As the beast lunged at Fred again, he tried to angle his sword so that it would get plunged into the creature's mouth, but the angle was too awkward. Instead, against all odds, Fred's blade got lodged between the creature's teeth. Fred used the leverage to keep the creature still in the air, but it wasn't easy. The creature began to claw at Fred's arms, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Hold steady, general!" Thursday ordered loudly. The creature's clawing increased in ferocity, but Fred held strong, strong and still like the general he was.

Suddenly, Thursday's blade came flying in, plunged into the creature's throat. The creature's fighting ceased immediately.

"Let go!" said Thursday urgently. Fred instinctively dropped his sword, and the creature with it. Already the best was slowly dissipating, dissolving into a pool of familiar black liquid.

"A Nithling," said Fred with disgust. "I've never seen on in the Incomparable Gardens before, sir."

"It is quite rare," Thursday assented. "Something must not be right."

At that moment the sound of several footsteps thundered through the hall. Numerous people turned the far corner to see what was going on, among them Art, Lord Sunday, and Fred's friends.

"A Nithling," Lord Sunday stated, somewhat questioningly.

"A ferocious one at that," said Thursday. "It was very difficult to defeat, even for me and General Gold."

"Something must be amiss," said Sunday, turning to Art. "Nithlings do not find their way to the Gardens often."

"I know," Art mused. "At the same time, it is unlikely that there is much cause for worry, as I believe that this is the result of a small problem I can easily fix."

"What problem?" asked Reyna from Art's side. She was staring at the inky pool of Nothing, clearly mystified as to what it was.

Art smiled. "The House was created from Nothing, from a giant Void composed of what you see there. Within Nothing is the potential to create, yet Nothing, by its very nature, also destroys. The House's foundations rest on the Void, and the House slowly sinks back into the Void. On some rare occasions, though, the Void's pull on the House is stronger than usual, and Nothing tries to press in. The small amount of Nothing that does manage to get in on these occasions often forms a Nithling, a savage beast of Nothing. I believe that this is what happened."

Reyna tried to hide her scoff. "And you believe that this is no big deal?" she asked mildly.

"It isn't," Art insisted. "With the Keys, I can easily return the pull of Nothing on the House back to its usual, creeping pace."

"It's true," Arthur added. "I've done it myself."

"I hope you're right about this, Art," Sunday put in. He still wore a troubled expression, like this issue wasn't as minor as Art thought. Fred couldn't help agreeing with him. If the Void's pull on the House had quickened suddenly, then the chance of Nothing infiltrating would be a lot greater. The Border Sea was a particular vulnerable spot, as was his own residence, the Great Maze.

I will set out immediately," said Art, "and the process will not take long. This has happened before, there is nothing to fear, I promise."

 _I hope you're right_ , Fred thought grimly, _I hope you're right_.

* * *

"Where were they last seen?" Chiron asked intently. He was walking briskly across the strawberry fields. Being a centaur, he probably didn't realize that a brisk walk for him was a jog for a human being. Still, the demigods hardly mentioned anything, the situation was too dire.

"Right in the dining hall," Frank replied, the only one who matched the centaur stride for stride. "Reyna came in, looking like she'd slept in a tree during a hurricane, she left with Nico, and that was it. Gone."

"How is that possible?" Chiron asked himself, the slightest agitation in his voice. "Out in the open, such things are to be somewhat expected, but in the middle of Camp Jupiter? No monster could have abducted them."

"I sent out search parties an hour ago back at my camp," said Frank. "I flew here as fast as I could."

"You must be gassed," said Jason concernedly. "Jeez, Frank. Getting yourself killed won't help Reyna and Nico, trust me."

"There's also Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Frank reminded him. "She hasn't been seen since last night. And guess who took her to her room?"

The group left that question unanswered.

"That's so… _bizarre_ ," said Annabeth. Percy looked over at her girlfriend. He could tell the wheels in her brain were spinning, but no solution was coming.

 _If anyone can figure it out, it's her_ , Percy reminded himself.

"We'll send out our own search parties, right?" Piper asked.

"One of our campers is missing, one of Rome's campers is missing," said Chiron. "Not to mention the Oracle of Delphi herself. Of course we will send a search party."

"I'll go," said Jason and Percy at the same time. They looked at each other sheepishly.

"We're all going," said Annabeth firmly. "They're our friends."

No one brooked an argument. Piper's face was set and ready, Leo, as usual, looked game for anything, Jason had already agreed to come, and Frank, of course, was already here. As for Percy himself, while personally tired of quests, knew that his friends were in need of him. Reyna and he were praetors together, albeit for a very short time. Rachel and he had been through a lot, they had helped each other on countless occasions. And Nico, the little boy from Maine who had grown up crushing on him, Percy felt responsible for him too. He couldn't let them down.

"When do we start?" Percy asked, trying to maintain his usual upbeat attitude.

"As soon as possible," said Jason. "First thing tomorrow, I think."

"We'll have to split up," said Piper. "We'd cover more ground that way."

"We have no idea where to start," said Leo. "Aw, man, I just get back with Calypso, and now I'm leaving."

"We don't have a choice," said Jason.

"I know," said Leo. "I just wish this wasn't a wild-goose chase all over the country."

"It might not have to be," said Annabeth suddenly, a sense of realization coming over her.

"What do you mean?" asked Frank. "You know where she might be?"

"No," said Annabeth, "but I know how we can find it."

Percy smiled at her. He knew Annabeth would get it.

Chiron was smiling, too. "If you would please explain, Miss Chase."

"Reyna left clothing behind, yes? Or something else that she touched?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm sure she did," said Frank. "Why is that important?"

"Because those items have her scent," Annabeth replied, a proud look on her face.

"And…you want us to sniff it out?" Leo asked. "I'm not a dog."

"Not you," said Annabeth.

"Oh, that's so smart!" Piper exclaimed, finally realizing what Annabeth planned. Frank seemed to realize too.

"I don't follow…" said Jason, scratching his head.

"Reyna's metal dogs, dude," said Percy with a smile. "Aurum and Argentum."

"Oh," Jason said weakly. He smiled sheepishly. "Not having a great day, am I."

"I'll send an Iris-Message to Hazel," Frank continued, all business. "I'll have the Fifth Cohort meet us back at Camp Jupiter. No time to lose."

Suddenly Frank turned into a giant eagle, large enough to seat all five of them.

"So much for first light," Leo muttered. The five of them scampered onto Frank the eagle's back.

Chiron trotted up to the eagle's side. "I'll send search parties regardless," he said. "Goodbye heroes, and good luck."


	9. Tea and Biscuits

CHAPTER 9: Tea and Biscuits

The light of the Seven Dials slowly faded, and the group once again found itself on Earth. It was a good thing that Art somehow knew where and when the gods would show up so that the group wouldn't have to waste its time searching. Once Rachel's vision stopped swimming, she put a hand to her eyes to shield the harsh sunlight and looked to see where they were.

It seemed like they were in a park. On one side was a large bay with a big island in the distance. On the other stood old-fashioned buildings, remnants of the Old South, it seemed to Rachel. There were numerous table strewn throughout the park, and a café stood nearby.

"I know where we are," Reyna announced. "This is Charleston, South Carolina. I've been here twice before." Based on the scowl on her face, Rachel inferred that neither time was particularly pleasant for her.

"Dandy," said Suzy, admiring the place. "And Art's sure that ol' lovebird is here?"

"Aphrodite," Reyna clarified. "Or Venus, as I know her. She is known to appear here."

"Great," said Leaf. "So all we have to do is wait for her, and then we'll jump her."

"It's not that simple," said Reyna.

"Never is," Arthur muttered. "What's the complication this time?"

"Venus will only appear in this park to women," Reyna stated. "If any men are about, she will not come."

The group continued to look at Reyna, as if expecting worse news than that. Then they all looked puzzled, as they couldn't comprehend what they were just told.

"I don't get it," Suzy said bluntly.

"The problem is that the person with our important chain is a male," Reyna specified, gesturing toward Arthur. "You'll have to give it to someone else."

"It might not work with someone else," Arthur protested. "It might only respond to the Rightful Heir, aka myself. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it, since I officially represent the New Architect in apprehending these gods."

Fred sighed. "Art sent us here to arrest Aphrodite, which means there has to be a way to arrest Aphrodite."

"Hmm…" Rachel mused, the seedlings of an idea forming in her head. "How far away do the men have to be?" she asked finally. "I mean, the whole park doesn't have to be clear, does it?"

Reyna's face took a reflective expression. "When I was last here, I _think_ there were other men in the park. It stands to reason that there were, just none of them were with me."

"Right," said Rachel. "Just what I thought. And Arthur, you're the one that needs to speak the spell, correct? You don't necessarily need to be the one to physically chain Aphrodite."

"I—I guess so," Arthur conceded.

"Great," said Rachel. "I'll stay here with Reyna—"

"I can't," Reyna interjected. "I already met with her here. I doubt she'll come for me again."

"Okay then," said Rachel, trying to maintain her confidence. "Then I'll still have Leaf and Su—"

"They're not demigods, or Oracles," Reyna interrupted again. "She won't appear for them either."

Rachel blanched. "Uh, okay…" her voice wavered and faded out.

Arthur walked up to her, holding the chain out in his hand. "Here," he said kindly. "Take it. You'll do fine. Just make sure to stay within earshot."

Rachel hesitated, then slowly took the chain, nodding her head silently.

"Orright, let's get this done," said Suzy. Trying to look like she was innocently minding her own business (and failing, being dressed like she was), Suzy strolled away, whistling a tune. The others began to do that same, milling outward in different directions. In a matter of seconds Rachel was standing all by herself.

She gulped. This was _not_ what she had intended when forming this plan a few minutes ago. She thought she's have her friends by her side, backup in case anything went amiss. She was hoping that Suzy, or maybe Leaf, someone that had experience with items from the House, could handle the chain. Instead she stood in the middle of a park in Charleston with no one around her, with a chain she wasn't completely sure how to use.

And she would have to face a very powerful goddess all by herself.

* * *

It was about midday when they had first arrived at the park, but now the day was nearly over. The sun hung low in the sky, red as a bright rose, casting stunning reflections on the water in the bay. The breeze ruffled Rachel's bright red hair very lightly, as if tickling her. She shivered slightly at the sensation.

The others were still scattered throughout the park, as they had been all day. Rachel glanced around, taking note as to who was where. Suzy and Leaf were sitting on a wooden bench, backs to Rachel, but they each stole a glance back in her direction every now and then. Fred Gold was nestled under a tall tree. He was seemingly asleep, but Rachel knew better. Reyna and Nico were strolling down a small pathway, both silent. Both of them wore scowls; Rachel was sure that they were growing impatient from waiting. Most importantly, Arthur was seated close by, but not too close by. He was at a table near to the one at which Rachel sat. He seemed intent on his own business, but Rachel was sure he was watching out of the corner of his eye, though he did a good job of hiding it.

As for Rachel herself, she was absently sipping a cup of coffee from the nearby café, drumming her fingers on the table at which she was sitting. She had bought a newspaper a couple of hours back, and had skimmed through it twice already. There was nothing interesting in the news, the only intriguing piece of information being the date. Rachel was surprised to discover that it was Wednesday, August 11th, five days after their capture of Apollo. How less than an hour in the House got converted to five days on Earth was lost on Rachel, but she wasn't very surprised that the time flow between the two places was uneven.

The uneventful minutes continued to pass, and the sun continued to dip, until Rachel was sure that Aphrodite would never come. That is, until the air ten paces in front of her began to shimmer. The glow grew brighter, and slowly took a humanoid shape, until, standing where the shimmer had been, was the goddess Aphrodite.

If anyone describing the love goddess would have said that she was beautiful, Rachel's reply would've been, "well, that's obvious!" Seeing her in person, though, Rachel realized that 'beautiful' was a vast understatement. Aphrodite's appearance simply couldn't be pinned down by a single word. Her bright, blonde hair was done up fancily in beautiful braids, her eyes seemed to shift in color, from vibrant blues to serene greens, and her dress was old-fashioned, yet gorgeous nonetheless, fitting in perfectly with the scenery.

Rachel was mostly stunned for those first few seconds, but a little crop of jealousy grew in the back of her mind. Her frizzy red hair was nothing like Aphrodite's stunning blonde, and her freckled skin couldn't compare to Aphrodite's smooth, pearly counterpart…

Rachel furiously shook those thoughts out of her head. _I am not a jealous person_ , she reminded herself. _I'm better than that!_

Walking slowly and gracefully, Aphrodite finally reached the table and sat down. A fancy mug of tea that matched her dress had already appeared in her hand.

"Hello, my dear!" Aphrodite gushed. "I don't think I've ever seen you before, have I?"

Rachel shook her head. "I don't think so. But I know who you are. It is a great pleasure to meet you."

"Hmm," the goddess purred. "Now the question is, do I know who you are. A demigod. No, not a demigod, but something similar…"

"My name is Rachel—"

"Elizabeth Dare," Aphrodite finished. "There we go! I do know you after all."

Rachel smiled, but she tried to steal a glance toward Arthur as she did so. The Rightful Heir was trying with all his might not to openly stare at the beauty of Aphrodite, and was barely succeeding. He couldn't keep his resolve up for much longer, though; Rachel needed to hurry it up.

"It is a great honor to be in your presence," said Rachel, in the fakest respectful tone she could manage.

Aphrodite smiled brightly. "The honor is all mine! Oh, how I love these bayside chats. A nice park, warm tea, and some juicy romance gossip!"

"Uh…"

Suddenly Aphrodite's eyes narrowed in a scrutinizing fashion. "Not much gossip with you though…not even one boyfriend?"

Rachel suddenly began to sweat. She didn't like anyone putting _that_ piece of information out into the open. Did Arthur hear?

 _Stop that_ , she chided herself. _Stay focused_.

"Yes," Rachel conceded, "my love life is a bit…slow. But that's not what I want to talk about."

"No?" the goddess asked. "What else do you talk about with a goddess of love besides love?"

Rachel hesitated, the seedlings of a plan on the tip of her tongue. It was a long shot, she knew, but it was the best chance she had.

"I want to talk about…beauty," Rachel replied slowly.

"Ah," said Aphrodite fondly. "You've come for my famous beauty tips. And you can definitely use them, too."

"Yes, I definite—hey!"

"Sorry dear, just speaking honestly," said the goddess. "First, I would do something with that hair. Red is a beautiful color, you just have to bring it out! And the clothes, oh, I can imagine twelve good outfits for you just by looking at you!"

"Aphrodite," Rachel said abruptly, cutting the goddess off. "Your beauty tips, I'm sure, are very wise and profound. But that is not what I came here for. I have a beauty tip for you."

Aphrodite looked shocked, but that shock quickly turned to anger. "A beauty tip for me? How insulting! I am already perfect!" Aphrodite began to glow, an aura of power surrounding her.

Rachel's heart sank, but she had to follow through with her plan. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the chain, shutting her eyes to shield them from the glow. "Here! A beautiful necklace for you!"

 _There's no way this will work,_ Rachel thought miserably. _Who do I think I'm fooling?_

Aphrodite didn't say a word. A hushed silence hung over the park, but Rachel noticed that the goddess's nimbus has disappeared. Trembling slightly, Rachel risked a peek at the goddess, hoping that she wasn't about to blast her to bits.

"Oh!" Aphrodite whimpered. "Oh, that's beautiful." The goddess was staring at Rachel's outthrusted hand in complete amazement. Rachel glanced downward and saw what the goddess was marveling at.

The chain had transformed. Whereas beforehand it was clearly a prisoner's chain with an electric blue aura, now it was a shining, beautiful necklace. The slender chain was pure silver, and there were seven golden charms handing from the lace. A clock hand, a glove, a trident, a baton, a mirror, a quill, and a small key. The seven Keys to the Kingdom.

"I have never seen such an amazing piece of jewelry!" Aphrodite exclaimed. Her eyes suddenly turned hungry. "I must have it! Give it to me!" The goddess reached out and snatched the necklace, hastily fastening it to her neck. And Rachel was all too happy to let her have it. For though it now looked like a necklace, Rachel knew that the chain was still a chain.

 _"_ _In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you!"_ came a powerful voice nearby. Suddenly the necklace around Aphrodite's throat began to contract, tightening around the goddess's neck. Aphrodite began to gag, hands immediately going to her throat in an attempt to pry the necklace off. The necklace, however, had reverted back into its original form, the Old One's chain. It magically began to slide down, somehow getting from her neck to her shoulders, and then splitting in two, one for each arm, right down to the wrist. The two chains reconnected, and Aphrodite's capture was complete.

"What is this?" Aphrodite shouted, shock and fear in her voice.

"I, Arthur Penhaligon, Rightful Heir to the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the goddess Aphrodite, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days," Arthur announced. "That's what this is."

"You're arresting me?" Aphrodite yelled. "I'm a goddess! You can't arrest me! I will make your love lives miserable!"

"Yeah, yeah, threats and outrage, real original," said Leaf dryly, approaching the scene with Suzy and Fred.

"It's their nature," said Nico, Reyna at her side. "They've been threatening the poor people of this planet for thousands of years."

"You! Nico di Angelo!" Aphrodite shouted. "And Reyna Ramirez-Arellano! Traitors!"

"Where have we heard that one before?" Reyna asked sarcastically.

"Do you remember what I said, praetor?" Aphrodite sneered. "It was right here in this park. I could make it so much worse for you, you will die alone and sad!"

Reyna didn't lose a beat, to her utmost credit. "Aphrodite," she said, almost sadly, "you had control of my love life once, but not anymore. You have been arrested, and I now work for a higher power now, one that is just and kind and fair. You are beyond me."

Aphrodite blanched, and then began to thrash some more like a fish out of water, flinging curses and threats.

"I reckon all of the gods will be like this, then?" Suzy asked. "What a snooty lot."

"Let's get this one back to the House," Fred suggested.

"The House?" Aphrodite asked. Her cursing and screaming had come to a sudden halt, and her face was pale.

Arthur stepped up and stood directly in front of the goddess. "You know of the House?"

"I've…I've heard rumors," Aphrodite stuttered. "I'm an ancient goddess. I was born at the time that Ouranos was castrated by his sons. At that time, there were whispers of rumors amongst the existing immortals about the House, but this was fiercely denied by the Titans. I didn't believe it myself, and in the earliest days of the Olympians the rumors were regarded as mere myth and were soon forgotten."

"Well you out of all people should have known that some myths turn out to be true," said Rachel.

"No, please!" Aphrodite begged. "I haven't done anything truly bad, have I?" She smiled, and it was so innocent and pretty that Rachel almost wanted to forgive her, but she stood strong.

"Out of the question," said Rachel firmly. "Besides, it's not up to anyone here."

"Enjoy being dragged before the New Architect and the Court of Days," said Arthur.

Suddenly a bright flash of light appeared, the light of the Seven Dials depositing someone in the vicinity. Everyone turned toward it, watching someone step out of the light as if it were a corridor.

It was a man, a short man with a bald head wearing a great yellow coat. The coat had an endless number of pockets lining both the inside and the outside. Strangest of all, Rachel noticed, were the numerous tattoos all over the man's body. When Rachel squinted, she could see the tattoos shifting and changing, as if alive.

"Doctor!" Arthur exclaimed. He handed the end of the chain to Rachel, walked up to the man, and shook his hand firmly.

"Yes, yes, well done everybody," the doctor stated. After looking at him for a few seconds, Rachel vaguely remembered seeing him in the Court of Days. He was Wednesday's Dusk, she was sure, but why Arthur called him doctor was beyond her.

The doctor shook the hands of Leaf, Suzy, and Fred as well, and bowed to Rachel, Reyna, and Nico. "It's a pleasure to meet you three in person," he said to them. "I've seen many of your kind through the Dials, and the powers that you three exhibit is among the best sorcery I've seen."

"Thank you," said Reyna politely. "Though it's more of a magic than a sorcery."

"Ah, of course," said the doctor. "Shall we travel back to the House, and, ah, process this arrestee?"

As the others gathered around the Transfer Plate the doctor had brought, Rachel thought about her conversation with Aphrodite. She was right, of course; Rachel had no love life to speak of. And Aphrodite had promised to make it so for a long time to come.

 _No,_ Rachel thought firmly. _That will not happen_. Slowly, she took a deep breath. _She has no control over me_ , she told herself. _Like Reyna said, we're beyond her. Forever_.

And for the first time today, a satisfactory smile lit her lips.


	10. The Mystery Deepens

CHAPTER 10: The Mystery Deepens

They group arrived in the Middle House in short order. Rachel, Reyna, and Nico were a little dazed from the Transfer Plate travel, but Suzy found that she was pretty much alright. She was a pro at Transfer Plate travel, after all. Fred, Arthur, and Leaf were alongside her, as was Doctor Scamandros, or 'Doc,' as Suzy liked to call him. And then there was that goddess that thought that she was all high and mighty until Rachel showed up to show her what's what.

"The Middle House," Arthur asked.

"It's where Art wants this goddess prisoned," Scamandros explained. "He wants to put all of the gods in different places, to avoid plots and collusion."

"Plots and collusion," Reyna repeated. "Makes sense. Though they're more likely to brutally argue and fight amongst themselves."

"Yes, that would seem very likely," Scamandros agreed, "though I think we'd want to avoid that too."

Suzy took a moment to survey the scene. They were in the Middle of the Middle, the center of the three sections of the Middle House. The temperature, in typical fashion, was not cold, not hot, but somewhere in the middle. The terrain was rocky, and the artificial sun shone brightly in the sky. Unlike the Flat, the sun in this section of the Middle House actually worked. To the group's left, The Extremely Grand Canal wound through the Middle of the Middle, and, a short distance away, curved upward into the air on its way to the Top Shelf.

"So, where are we taking this batty-eyed goddess?" Fred asked.

"You will be giving her to me." Suzy, and everyone else, turned around to find someone new standing with them. Suzy immediately recognized the Denizen as Friday's Dusk. Like all of the other Dusks, this one was wearing an outfit completely black in color. In this case, it was a long, flowing robe that was dark as night. Also, this Dusk had the normal, soft demeanor of any typical Dusk. Unlike the other Dusks, Friday's Dusk had shoulder-length hair that was white, as opposed to the typical black. Suzy had wondered about this when she first saw him, but then noticed that it was a soft white, like a moon.

"Friday's Dusk," Suzy stated. "It's good to see you ain't off somewhere sucking the experience out of people."

"You know that the practice is now forbidden," Dusk replied smoothly. "Besides, my mistress, Lady Friday, has mostly gotten over such desires, and so have I."

"Good," said Arthur flatly. "Now, where will you be taking her?" He gestured toward the love goddess, who still hadn't said anything since arriving in the House. She was sitting still, staring glumly at the rocky ground.

"The New Architect has commanded that I put her in the eyrie of my Winged Servants of the Night," Dusk answered.

Arthur shuddered. "Are you sure?" he asked slowly. "It seems cruel to even subject her to…that."

Dusk shrugged. "I do as commanded. I'll order the Winged Servants of the Night not to bother her, at least, not too much."

Arthur sighed and handed Dusk the chain of the Old One. Dusk accepted it with a smile, fluttered his black wings, and took off toward the Skylock above, Aphrodite dangling from the chain and screaming wildly.

"Well, that's done," said Suzy cheerfully. "Tea and biscuits?"

* * *

The famed group of seven sped quickly across the rugged landscape. Hazel had joined them from the Fifth Cohort, leaving Dakota in charge, and was riding her horse, Arion. The horse had also grudgingly agreed to carry Leo, who was bounding around uncomfortably while holding on for dear life. Above them, Percy and Annabeth were smoothly riding Percy's pegasus, Blackjack. Next to them, Frank had transformed into a falcon, flying in the air with wings spread.

Jason watched all of his friends traveling together from the back of Tempest, a _ventus_ that was a friend of his. They were traveling low to the ground, slightly behind Arion. Piper was sitting calmly behind him, her arms wrapped around his midsection in a protective, loving manner. Despite the fact they were riding a storm spirit, which blew harsh winds and crackled lightning occasionally, both he and Piper were enjoying the ride together.

Up ahead, in the far distance, a great dust cloud billowed up around Aurum and Argentum. Those two were more important than anyone else going on this search, for they were hounds, and were able to track Reyna's scent. They had met up with the two hounds back at Camp Jupiter, and Frank had immediately thrust one of Reyna's belongings in front of them. The hounds wasted no time charging off eastward, and they hadn't stopped since.

"How do you think Reyna made it this far?" Piper asked from behind Jason. Despite that fact that they were traveling at high speed, Jason could hear and speak easily.

The son of Jupiter sighed. "I don't know, Pipes. Whoever captured them must have a quick means of travel."

"Or maybe Nico shadow-traveled," Piper pointed out.

"I don't know," Jason repeated, "Nico was pretty wiped after traveling from Epirus all the way to Long Island. I'm not sure he'd have had the strength."

"You're probably right," Piper admitted. "I guess we'll find out when we find them."

Jason remained silent for a moment, but then his eyes widened as he realized what Piper was implying. "You don't think they _ran away_ , do you?"

Piper hesitated. "I'm not sure," she replied slowly.

"Piper!" Jason exclaimed in surprise. "Reyna is more loyal to the legion than anyone else I know, she would never abandon them!"

"I know, Jason—"

"Look," he interjected, "you may not find her trustworthy when it comes to me, and that's understandable, but she's completely trustworthy when it comes to the legion as a whole, and the Greeks."

Piper looked slightly offended. "I told you, Jason, I've moved past that. And I know that she's completely dedicated to her legion."

"Then you can't possibly think she ran away!"

"Then you explain how they suddenly disappeared from the middle of camp!" Piper yelled.

Jason looked around, hoping no one else had heard. Luckily everyone else was too far away to have heard Piper yell.

Piper took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for yelling, Jason, but look at the facts. The camp border is protected. No monsters or enemies of the gods could have entered. Maybe they got captured outside the camp boundary, but either way, they left Camp Jupiter willingly. They ran away."

Jason shook his head. "No," he denied. "No. Reyna wouldn't do that. She wouldn't!"

"I'm sorry Jason," Piper said, hugging her boyfriend tightly. "There's no other explanation. Besides, look who she was with. Not only would Nico di Angelo be willing to run away, he's done it before. And Rachel Elizabeth Dare has no ties to either camp."

Jason took a deep breath. _Oh Reyna_ , he thought sadly. He still didn't believe that she would ever leave the legion, but now he at least had to open himself up to the possibility. Piper's logic was sound, as much as he hated to admit it.

What Jason couldn't figure out was why she would do it. Reyna was unbelievably loyal and dedicated. She had fought and bled for the Twelfth Legion more than any other legionnaire, including himself. She wasn't one of those leaders that delegated everything to other people. She herself was involved in the day-to-day running of Camp Jupiter, from training and fighting to meals and Senate meetings. She had basically built the legion from the bottom up, so why would she leave it so suddenly?

Maybe she had finally snapped. Jason knew all about Reyna's special power, her ability to lend strength to others. Jason knew that she was constantly lending her strength to each of the legionnaires, and she had stayed their strong leader regardless, but one could only keep that up for so long. Maybe she had finally grown weary of doing what she did, maybe the weight and pressure had finally grown to strong.

A pit of sadness sprouted in Jason's stomach. He hoped that that wasn't the case. True, Jason loved Piper, true, Jason had chosen Piper over Reyna, true, that probably left Reyna devastated, but the two had still remained friends. Jason did still care for Reyna, like he cared for all of his friends. He did not want her to be in any sad, depressed state.

 _I'm going to find her_ , Jason thought to himself. _I'm going to find her and help her in any way I can. All of us owe her that much, at least_.

Jason felt the same way about Nico di Angelo. Thanks to the god Cupid, Nico had been forced to reveal his deepest, darkest secret to Jason, that he was gay, and that he had a crush on Percy Jackson himself. The complete sadness, the feeling of being utterly alone, Jason knew that those feelings had tormented for the better part of two-and-a-half years. He had done his best to make Nico feel welcomed, to convince him that he and his friends had his back no matter what. He thought he'd succeeded too, Nico had told Jason himself that he planned on staying.

 _I guess not_ , Jason thought glumly. _Gods, Nico, I hope you're safe_.

As for Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Jason barely knew her, but if she was in danger then he had to help. It was his responsibility as a demigod, as a hero.

Suddenly Jason heard a whoosh next to his ear. He turned to his left and saw that it was Blackjack, carrying Percy and Annabeth.

"Blackjack says the hounds are stopping!" Percy called.

Jason nodded firmly, and immediately willed Tempest to slow down. Frank up above, and Arion on the ground were doing the same. As Tempest slowed down, Jason was able to get a good view of his surroundings. They were in a barren region, he could see, with very little vegetation. They were traversing some low hills, and were approaching the shore of a very large lake. Across the lake stood a city, a city that Jason found familiar.

"Salt Lake City," he stated. He recognized the place from when the _Argo II_ stopped here after fleeing Camp Jupiter. Sure, he had recently been hit in the head with a boulder and was kind of out of it, but he still remembered the place. He could smell the salt from the Great Salt Lake even aboard the ship, and he could smell it now.

The hounds had come to a complete stop, each of them sniffing the ground around a certain area between the shore of the lake and a giant boulder.

"Reyna and the others were here?" Leo asked after dismounting Arion. He was wobbling around, spinning in circles and dazed.

"Why don't you sit down, Leo," Jason suggested.

Leo replied by crashing to the ground. "Just let me lay down a minute," he said woozily.

Percy shrugged. "Why would they be brought here?" he asked.

Piper sighed. "Jason, would you like to tell them?"

All eyes turned to him. Jason took a deep breath, forcing the bad news to the forefront of his mind. "Piper and I have been talking," he said slowly. "We…we don't think they were kidnapped, we think they ran away."

Jason was expecting shocked glances and gaping mouths, but the only person who seemed truly shocked was Frank. The rest wore solemn looks, as if they themselves had been thinking the same thing and now had confirmation.

"Ran away?" Frank asked. "Reyna would never!"

Jason immediately put a hand on Frank's shoulder. "I know, I thought the same thing, trust me. But there's no other explanation, there's no way they could've been taken from the middle of Camp Jupiter."

Frank took deep breaths, he looked like he was about to cry, but he held it in. "Okay," he said quietly. "Okay. Let's just get them back."

Annabeth smiled at him. "That's the spirit, Frank. I'm sure she had a good reason."

"Hey, guys," Hazel called. "Come look at this."

Jason's eyes turned to where Hazel was standing. She stood next to Aurum and Argentum, who were still sniffing at the same spot. The rest of the group (save Leo) walked to where she was standing.

"Whoa," said Percy. He pointed to a spot on the ground, and Jason saw what he was talking about. The ground there was burnt, which would've been normal had it not been for the shape of the burned patch. It was long, thin, and strikingly resembled a chain.

"How does that even happen?" Piper asked in wonderment.

"There's something else," Annabeth perked up. She was standing a few feet away, next to an object on the ground, which she picked up.

"A hat?" Jason asked.

Sure enough, it was a hat, a very squashed one. Though it was dirty, Jason could tell that it was, or had been, a color similar to a blue of some sort.

"There's a tag of some sort," said Annabeth, examining the hat very closely.

"What's it say?" Frank asked.

 _"_ _This hat is the sole property of Suzy Turquois Blue, tenth in precedence within the House. If found, please return to Monday's Dayroom, to a wool-headed butler by the name of Sneezer. If you decide to nick this top hat, may the Piper's ghost haunt you until the day you die. Thanks,"_ read Annabeth. She turned to the rest of the group. "I have no idea what this means."

"Do any of us?" Jason scoffed.

"Is this Reyna's idea of a joke?" Percy asked.

"Reyna doesn't exactly do jokes," Frank pointed out. "Either Reyna and the others have gotten involved in something really strange, or this isn't related at all."

Suddenly, the two hounds jumped up from where they were sniffing and bounded toward Annabeth and the hat. They sniffed it for two seconds, then bounded off southward, to go around the lake.

"Well, that answers that," said Hazel. Not wasting any time, she beckoned to Leo to get off the ground and hopped on Arion. Percy and Annabeth hastened to their steed, and Jason followed their lead alongside Piper. Soon they were in the air, heading eastward again.

 _At least we have some small lead_ , Jason thought hopefully. But he still felt mostly despair. That hat brought up more questions than it answered, and they were still nowhere near close to finding Reyna.

* * *

The bright, artificial sun of the Border Sea shone strongly. It was hot, humid, and salty, but Wednesday's Dawn was used to this, of course. Over the course of her time in the House, she had no doubt that she had traversed every inch of the Border Sea, both above and below the surface. The Sea must be constantly tended, and that responsibility had fallen entirely on her ever since Lady Wednesday's…predicament.

Now, though, that responsibility was handled by the New Architect, who easily kept the Border Sea within its bounds through the use of his Keys. Now Wednesday's Dawn was free to tend to other important matters within her domain. Under her command were the Nissers, the protectors of Lady Wednesday that bore tridents like Wednesday herself. She was also in charge of maintenance of Port Wednesday, along side Wednesday's Dusk. Other than that, she spent her time lazily flying over the Border Sea, watching the ships sail beneath her and the waves crash.

Her golden winds spread, Dawn decided that it was time for a dip. She quickly shifted into her shark form and dove beneath the waves, immersing herself in the clear blue waters of the Border Sea. For the first time in millennia, Dawn was happy. She no longer had to trouble herself with the troubles of the Border Sea, her mistress was back to her normal, beautiful self, and she now had a Noon and Dusk to share in the burden, instead of her being all on her own.

Suddenly, in the distance below the surface, Dawn spotted a dark spot in the water. She squinted, but was unable to make out what it was. It looked like an object to her, something that was floating just beneath the surface. She wasn't surprised to see it, for any object that is truly lost anywhere in the Universe finds its way to the Border Sea eventually.

Curious, Dawn decided to go closer to the object, to see what it was. Dawn propelled herself with her golden wings, travelling at high speed toward the object. Slowly, for it was far, the object began to grow larger and clearer in Dawn's vision. She wondered how a large object like that could make its way to the Sea. Surely something that big couldn't get lost?

As she approached, the water began to grow colder and slightly darker. A familiar chill began to creep up Dawn's spine, a feeling that she did not like at all. The dark object seemed to be darker than it initially appeared, and seemed to be growing larger, not just because Dawn was approaching it, but it was actually expanding in size.

Suddenly Wednesday's Dawn realized what it was and shot out of the water. She hovered there for a moment, the 'object' a mere few feet away. Above it, the sky turned stormy, and rain began to fall. Dawn stared at the 'object' with disgust, the 'object' that turned out to be a giant mass of Nothing.

"How is this possible?" Dawn whispered to herself. "It must be what Art had mentioned a week back, about the Void pressing on the House." According to the New Architect, this happened every few centuries or so. The Void would press up against the House, and the amount of Nothing and Nithlings within the House would increase for a bit of time, before the Void receded.

"I hope Art is right," Dawn murmured. She quickly unsheathed a small trident that was clipped to her side. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the Third Key, but it contained enough sorcerous energy, courtesy of Wednesday's Dusk, to allow Dawn to attend to her duties. "Nothing, begone!" she commanded, and the great mass of Nothing returned to the Void. For now.


	11. War Council

CHAPTER 11: War Council

"So, what is this thing that we're being called to again?" Rachel asked dubiously. She had to speak very loudly in order to be heard over the loud orchestra that was playing in the large elevator. Even after spending a lot of time in the House, Reyna found herself still getting used to the many oddities that existed here.

"It's a meeting of some sort," Arthur answered. "At least, that's what Doctor Scamandros told me. It's not exactly a court session, but more of a war council, so I'm told."

"War council?" Reyna asked. "Is there a war coming?"

"Not really," Fred explained. "Every formal meeting here in the House is called a war council, for some reason."

"And we are at war," Leaf added, "against your gods."

Reyna nodded. Leaf was right, she realized. They were at war.

"But why now?" Nico asked. "Why not have this big meeting before we started capturing gods?"

"Beats me," said Suzy cheerfully. In one hand, the girl was holding a giant mug of tea, and in the other, you guessed it, a biscuit. Apparently, one could get tea and biscuits anywhere in the House, including the elevators.

The elevator continued to rise in silence for a few moments, save the orchestra. Reyna knew that the elevator ride would likely take a couple of hours, so she decided to acclimate herself with her new friends. She always found it important to connect with the people she quested with, both for the sake of cohesiveness and for the sake of decency and kindness.

"So," Reyna began, gesturing toward Arthur, Leaf, Suzy, and Fred, "you guys have never properly told me your story about your dealings with the House."

"That's a long story," said Arthur. "What would you like to know?"

"A lot of things," Reyna insisted. "For instance, why are you called the Rightful Heir?"

Arthur looked down at the floor, but smiled in a remembering way. "Basically," he said, "I inherited the seven Keys to the Kingdom of the Architect. She had put in her Will that the House would go to a mortal from the Secondary Realms, which I obviously am."

"Any mortal," said Nico, now interested. "Why you?"

Arthur's smile vanished. "It was coincidence, actually. The Will had some sort of plot to trick Mister Monday into giving up the First Key, and part of that plan was finding a mortal who was about to die." Arthur's eyes clouded over. "You see, I…I used to be an asthmatic, and I had a very bad episode that would've killed me had the Will not shown up and given me the Minute Hand of the First Key."

"So, it was all an accident," Rachel said softly. "You were just in the right place at the right time."

"Or the wrong place at the wrong time," said Arthur with a wry smile.

"You know," said Reyna, "in the Greek-Roman world, there are no accidents and coincidences. Everything is ordained by the Fates. It wasn't an accident that you were chosen, Arthur."

"And what exactly is happening to the Greek-Roman world at this moment?" Arthur said back.

Reyna had no answer to that, and the elevator returned to silence for a few moments. She had never thought about that before, what would happen to the Fates once this whole thing was over. Based on what Arthur told her, she guessed that fate itself would be destroyed, and everything would be left to random chance. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or frightened at that. On one hand, the idea of fate was scary, that everything you would do and everything that will happen to you has been preordained, but, on the other, the idea that everything is left to random chance is pretty terrifying, too.

"So, what about you?" Leaf perked up. "How'd you guys get involved in the whole god thing?"

"We're demigods," Nico replied casually. "We had no choice in the matter. The monsters come for you eventually, whether you want it or not."

"Yikes," said Fred. "Sounds like you live an active lifestyle."

"Active is a…good word to describe it," Nico replied. "I was attending a school up in Maine with my sister when we were attacked by a manticore. I was saved by Percy Jackson." Nico took a breath, and Reyna saw a great mix of emotion on Nico's face, a combination of his feelings for Percy mixed with anguish over the loss of his sister.

"Who's Percy Jackson?" Suzy asked. "He some high-flying nob in your Greek world?"

Nico chuckled. "Just a hero. A really good hero."

"You'll probably be meeting him at some point," Reyna added darkly, "and we'll be on the wrong side of him."

At that point the elevator dinged, way before Reyna was expecting it to. The doors opened onto a narrow hallway with four doors. Standing in front of the elevator was a very tall, very handsome Denizen. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and sported a cane and a grey morning coat. And his tongue, Reyna noticed, was bright silver.

"Saturday's Noon," said Arthur.

"Lord Arthur," Noon replied courteously, "and his friends. If you'll follow me, please." He then unceremoniously turned around and went through one of the doors, a door that led to a staircase. The group followed Noon one floor up, and stopped below a door in the ceiling above. "The war council will take place in here." He pulled the door down, and the group climbed up a small ladder into the room above.

The room beyond was something that took Reyna's breath away. It was surrounded on all sides by glass windows from floor to ceiling, including the ceiling, revealing a stormy, yet wondrous scene. The room itself contained numerous leather couches, green lamps, and an office desk of polished wood.

Sitting on the couches were four Denizens that even Reyna recognized by now. Grim Tuesday, Sir Thursday, Superior Saturday, and Lord Sunday were splayed out very comfortably. Other than them, the room was completely empty.

"Ah, finally," said Lord Sunday. "Now we can begin. Please, sit."

"It's _my_ office Sunday, I'm the one that has to invite them to sit," Saturday insisted.

"Does it matter?" Grim Tuesday droned. "Let's just get this over with so I can return to the Far Reaches. I never liked it here in the Upper House."

Saturday glared at him, but Sunday ignored her and beckoned for Reyna and her friends to sit. They obliged, each taking a seat on one of the comfy couches in Saturday's office.

"Where are the other Days?" Arthur asked. "And Art, for that matter. He should be here too, no?"

"Art is with Drowned Wednesday in the Border Sea," Sunday explained. "Apparently some small issue has arisen that requires both their attention. As for Lady Friday, she is, ah, away for now. You see, we Morrow Days are only _mostly_ cured of the sins that infected us. For instance, Grim Tuesday constructs a treasure every now and then, Thursday, while mostly calm, loses his temper on occasion, and I still hold myself to the highest standards. If it weren't so urgent, I wouldn't have burdened myself descending to this cramped, unappealing office—"

Saturday nudged Sunday in the ribs so hard, Reyna could have sworn she heard a rib crack.

"Anyway," Sunday continued irritably, "The practice of experiencing has been forbidden by the New Architect, so Friday needs to, ah, blow off steam every now and then."

"Blow off steam?" Leaf asked.

"Yes," Sunday replied hesitantly, looking very uncomfortable. "I believe Mister Monday is with her at the moment…"

Leaf and Arthur's eyes widened. "Oh," said Arthur in a small voice.

"What?" Suzy asked, clearly oblivious. "I don't understand."

"It's nothing," said Arthur quickly. "Let's move on. Why the war council."

"Well, primarily, I love war councils," said Sir Thursday. "Secondarily, as your mission is about to get a lot harder, we thought it best to meet with you and discuss strategy."

"Don't worry," Sunday added, "I haven't composed any agendas."

"Thank goodness," said Leaf and Suzy at the same time, clearly relieved for reasons Reyna did not understand.

"What do you mean the mission is about to get harder?" the praetor asked. "It's always been hard."

"True," said Saturday, "but that was before you actually succeeded in capturing two gods. By now, the gods will have probably guessed that there is someone napping gods off the Earth."

"Makes sense," said Fred. "What do you want us to do about it, though?"

"Well, for one, we should be more careful," Leaf pointed out. "If the gods know that someone is capturing them, then they'll be more on alert when we come across them."

"We might be of some use," said Reyna, indicating her, Nico, and Rachel. "If the gods see us, they'll be more relaxed. Even if they know that someone is capturing gods, they wouldn't dream that it's demigods that are doing it." Saying that sentence out loud still sent shivers down Reyna's spine, but she had long since accepted her new role.

"Very good," said Superior Saturday, "but I fear being extra cautious won't be enough."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, his face a mask of irritation. "What more can we do?"

Sir Thursday smiled. "I'm afraid that you are all acting quite narrow-mindedly. Simply capturing the gods through more cautious means doesn't cover everything. With gods disappearing left and right, do you not think that the remaining gods will send search parties to look for them?"

Reyna blanched. "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted. "Of course they will. Demigods, most likely, though the gods might venture themselves if the situation gets truly serious."

"Yeah, okay," said Leaf, "but you guys don't seriously think they'll make it to the House, do you? As long as we bring the gods here safely, there's no risk of detection, right?"

"Not in a million years," Sunday assured. "We are merely being cautious, Miss Leaf. We Trustees have grown our own separate bad traits when we were in power, but if there was one common mistake we all made, it was that we were not cautious enough."

"What would you have us do to guarantee they won't discover the house, then?" Arthur insisted.

Saturday spread her hands. "We merely require that you cover your tracks. Up until this point, you've been using Transfer Plate to get back to the House from your missions. Transfer Plates, however, are sorcerous, and sorcery can be traced, so we ask that you not use Transfer Plates any longer."

"How do you know so much about Transfer Plates?" Suzy challenged brashly.

"I invented them," Saturday replied dryly. "The sorcerous component, anyway. The plates themselves are fashioned by Grim Tuesday. Can I continue now?"

Suzy nodded meekly, clearly bested.

Saturday cleared her throat. "That leaves three options. The Seven Dials can only transport you _from_ the House, so that is not plausible, while there is no guarantee that the Front Door will manifest itself in whatever location you are at. That only leaved one option."

There was silence for a few moments, as everyone contemplated what the remaining option might be. Then, there was a sudden intake of breath to Reyna's left, courtesy of Arthur.

"You don't mean what I think you mean," the Rightful Heir whispered, a hint of worry in his voice.

"We do," said Sunday. "We ask that from now on you only travel to the House via the Improbable Stair."

"But that's impossible!" Arthur declared almost immediately. "You need a Key to work the Stair!"

"Which is why we are giving you this," said Sunday. Suddenly, a bright object flew from his hand toward Arthur, who caught it deftly. The object cast a golden light onto Arthur's face, revealing a look of utter shock. Reyna, along with the five others, got up to see what Sunday had given Arthur. She craned her neck, reaching hard, to see that Arthur held a small, golden key.

"The Seventh Key," Arthur whispered wondrously. "How did you get this from Art?"

"Art instructed me to give it to you, which I have done," said Sunday. "It is yours, for as long as you need it."

Arthur looked up, the look of wonder still on his face. Then he shook his head. "No, I can't," he declared. "I can't carry six people with me up the Stair. I barely made it with just Suzy!"

"You're a whole lot stronger now than you were then," was the reply, but it did not come from one of the Days. It came from Suzy, who was sitting right next to Arthur. "With the Seventh Key, I reckon you could carry the whole lot of us."

Arthur took a deep, shaky breath. "I guess I'll give it a try," he said wearily, giving Suzy a gratified smile.

"Excellent!" Grim Tuesday exclaimed. "Can I go now?"

"Not yet!" Sir Thursday chided. "We still have one more order of business to discuss."

"We do?" Sunday asked. He and Saturday seemed a bit puzzled.

"Of course we do!" Sir Thursday exclaimed, voice raised. "We still have to work out who they should go after next."

"Oh, that's right," said Saturday. "Maybe I should have drafted an agenda after all…"

"No, no, that's alright!" said Leaf. "We don't need an agenda, we can think of this on our own."

"If I may make a suggestion," Reyna interjected, "I would suggest going after Diana next, or Artemis, if you will. She is likely to be vulnerable with her brother Apollo missing."

"Or, that's made her more dangerous," Nico countered. "We should go after Demeter, I think. I don't see any harm in a grain goddess."

"Don't underestimate the power of vegetation," Lord Sunday warned.

"Seriously," Leaf agreed. "I almost got killed by an ambulatory seedpod once."

"Well, this conversation is going nowhere," Arthur muttered.

"Indeed," said an unfamiliar voice. Everyone turned their heads to take a peek at the unknown visitor, including the four present Morrow Days. Stepping through the door was a tall, muscular woman. She was covered from ankle to neck in tough steel armor that fit her as naturally as skin. She wore a war helm that seemed to radiate power and might. In one hand, the woman bore a long, sharp spear, and in the other she carried a lit torch. The only part of her body that showed was her face, and a few wisps that hinted of long, dark hair. Her face was angled, her jaw was set, and her eyes gleamed dark and hard. Everyone in the room seemed surprised by the sudden entrance, but Reyna was in utter disbelief, for she knew this woman. Standing before them, Reyna knew, was the goddess Bellona. Reyna's mother.

"It seems your military planning has gone awry," the war goddess. "Being a war goddess myself, I thought I would join in this council and assist."

Sir Thursday looked like he wanted to throw something, but Sunday seemed slightly relieved. "Very well," he said. "As you yourself are not a prisoner due to your immunity, I see no reason why you cannot assist us. Unless, that is, you seek to give us bad advice to help out your godly friends."

Bellona scoffed. "I am beyond them, and am done with them. The art of war is sacred, and the Olympians have long since soiled it. Moreover, I am eager to be free of their influence, along with the other minor gods. I believe many of them have already arrived here in this House."

"Do you believe her?" Sunday asked the rest of the room. "Should we trust her?"

Reyna stood up. "She is my mother," she announced. "I will vouch for her." Though to be honest, Reyna didn't really feel like doing so. She had never met her mother before, and the typical demigod feelings, the ones that felt angry over their parents' lack of attention, clashed with her usual, rational self. Yes, she understood that gods simply could not act like normal parents, but that did not take the pain away.

Bellona nodded proudly at her daughter and then turned back to Sunday. "Is that good enough for you?"

Sunday nodded. "Please, impart your advice onto us."

Bellona smiled. "I am a war goddess," she said. "I know not of intricate strategies and plots, but I know how to wage wars, and win them." She smiled. "If you want to kill a snake, you go for its head. If you want to win a war, you must do the same. You must go for the other side's head, their chief thinker and strategist. If you can take care of that, it leaves the other side without organization or brainpower. It renders them weak and ineffectual, and ripens them for defeat."

Bellona looked her daughter directly in the eye. "If you want to defeat the gods, you must render them a blow from which they will hardly recover. You must take out their head, and the rest will crumble."

A pit of fear and worry settled in Reyna's gut. She knew what her mother meant, and she did not like it. They weren't ready for such a challenge, they only just started. But there was no use protesting. Sunday was nodding his head in assent, and even Thursday grumbled that he thought it was a good idea. _I will lead them through this_ , she thought to herself. _I will gather my wits and use them to succeed. I will not fail my mother_. She just hoped that her wits could somehow match those of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.


	12. Nervous Encounters

CHAPTER 12: Nervous Encounters

After the war council was over, everyone was given some time to prepare for the daunting task ahead. Everyone else seemed to wander around aimlessly, not sure how to spend their time. Reyna, however, knew exactly what she wanted to do. As soon as she left Saturday's office, she tracked down her mother and cornered her.

Bellona was still dressed in the same garb. Her armor still shone, her helmet was as powerful as ever, her spear was still deadly, and her torch still bright. The war goddess fixed Reyna with her hard stare as soon as Reyna approached her, but Reyna did not balk. She had been waiting years to finally meet her mom, and she wasn't about to let her cow her.

The two stood silently for a few moments, each staring neutrally at the other. A trillion thoughts flowed through Reyna's mind, but she quelled them. She would approach this like she would any situation, with her mind clear, her wits about her, and her resolve strong.

"Mother," Reyna began. She didn't know how to feel, so she decided not to feel at all. Her voice was emotionless.

"Reyna," Bellona replied. "I am glad we finally have the chance to meet in person."

Reyna did not reply to that, instead keeping her neutral look. Bellona was the goddess of war, the goddess of strength. Reyna had to remain strong.

"You have grown much," Bellona commented. "I had always known you would go far, but you have risen even faster than I would have thought. You make an excellent praetor, Reyna."

Reyna nodded her head. "I appreciate your praise," she said. "Though it doesn't look like I'll be praetor for much longer."

"It doesn't look like the office of praetor itself will be around for much longer," Bellona replied. "Your treachery has made sure of that."

Reyna's eyes widened slightly. What her mother thought of her decision hadn't even crossed her mind as a worry. She was worried now, though.

"As soon as I found out, I was immensely curious as to why you did it," Bellona continued. "You are my daughter, the daughter of Bellona. I do not just stand for war, my daughter, I stand for strength, for perseverance, for loyalty."

Reyna's pace began to quicken. "For those reasons," she said hastily, "I can understand why you have some disappointment in me. But I made my choice, and I stand by it."

Bellona stared at her daughter, and then, slowly, a smile began to form on her lips. "Who said I was disappointed?" she asked. "Reyna, in such a decision, there is hardly a right choice and a wrong choice. I stand for loyalty. Loyalty to Rome, certainly, but also loyalty to one's own ideals. Loyalty to justice, to strength, and to order. As you know, my temple was not just the place where war was declared, but where ambassadors were met and peace agreements forged. I am the goddess of war, but of _ordered_ war, just war, unlike that barbarian Mars.

"The Olympians, Reyna, have tarnished the art of war. Their constant squabbling has resulted so much chaos in the world, it is beyond measure. And they have unfortunately led New Rome down this path. You, unlike anyone else save your two friends, recognized that this was happening, and was faced with a choice between loyalties. And there is no right answer in such a choice."

"So, you aren't angry?"

"I will be honest with you, my daughter," Bellona replied. "You did betray Rome, that there is no denying. But as I just said, you stayed true to my ideals, and, more importantly, your ideals. Do I praise your decision? No, but do I hold it against you? Absolutely not. And the fact that you stand by your choice proves that you made the right choice for yourself, Reyna."

Reyna had to hold back tears. Her mother had basically taken a neutral position to Reyna's decision, but the way she described it, it sounded like praise. _I stood true to myself_ , Reyna thought _. That's something to be proud of._

"I will continue to make you proud, mother," Reyna promised. "I have given myself a task, and I will follow through. Hopefully, it will restore order to the world, both in peace and in war."

"I don't doubt it," said Bellona. She sighed. "I suppose I will get used to this place eventually. That Thursday fellow is a grumpy fool, but he runs his Army well, I can see. Perhaps I will join it."

Reyna smiled. "That will make Thursday's day."

"He'll live," Bellona scoffed. "I won't look to take over his command. Yet."

That got Reyna laughing. It felt good, laughing with her mother. This entire time she had thought to approach this how she would as a praetor. Now she realized that the appropriate method was to approach this as a daughter. And despite the gargantuan task ahead, Reyna felt confident that she would succeed, and fulfill her promise to her mother.

* * *

Leaf sat on the couch, watching Arthur pace fitfully across the room. They were in the office of Saturday's Dusk, who was currently absent, and were awaiting the time that they would embark to capture their next goddess. According to Nico, Athena was an extremely smart, crafty goddess, and capturing her would be far from easy. That worried Leaf. The first two gods they arrested had been extremely vain and vulnerable to trickery. Athena wasn't like that, which meant that their eventual plan would have to be even wilier than usual, so wily as to outsmart the goddess of outsmarting people.

Arthur, though, was more preoccupied with the issue at hand, the Improbable Stair. He seemed very nervous about using the Stair, even though he had used it several times before. He had never taken six people with him on the stair before, he insisted. The most he had taken was two, apparently, and that had been difficult. Taking six would be quite a task.

Leaf found that she was getting nervous herself as well. She had never been on the Improbable Stair before. From what Arthur had told her, it was very tricky and dangerous to use. You had to constantly keep moving, or you wouldn't get to where you needed to go. Before reaching your eventual destination, you may come upon landings of the Stair, in which case you would have to find the Stair again in short order. If you couldn't, you'd be left behind, and it would almost certainly be a place that you would not want to be.

 _So complicated_ , Leaf thought miserably. _Why can't it be as simple as a Transfer Plate?_

"You know, pacing isn't going to make it any easier," said Leaf, growing tired of watching Arthur's nervousness.

"It's better than sitting," Arthur replied in a huff, not slowing his pacing down. "If I sit, the nervous energy will build. If I pace, I'll burn it off."

"Whatever you say," said Leaf, nonchalantly sipping a cup of tea. _Jeez, just a few days in the House and I'm already as obsessed with tea as a Denizen_.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Fred didn't wait for an answer, and poked his head in immediately. "It's time," he said."

Leaf stood up. "You ready?"

"No." Arthur's face was sour.

"Too bad." Leaf grabbed Arthur by the hand and led him out of the office.

A few minutes later the group had regathered back in Saturday's office, only this time it was just Saturday herself that greeted them.

"It's time, I suppose," said the sorceress. "I'll oversee your departure, as Grim Tuesday and Sir Thursday have departed, and Lord Sunday has returned to his precious gardens."

"At least you get to visit them often," Suzy pointed out, always one for the bright side.

Saturday's face softened. "Yes, I suppose you are right, Miss Blue." She turned to Arthur. "Good luck, and stay safe." She then turned toward the trap door and left her own office.

Arthur took a deep breath. "Alright," he said firmly. "Here's what you all have to do. I want you all to line up behind me, leaving a bit of space between yourself and the next person. The person with the strongest grip and most experience on the Stair—that's you, Suzy—should be first behind me. The person with the weakest grip should go last."

"And why's that?" asked Rachel.

"Because in order to follow me on the Stair, you must be grabbing a hold of me, either directly or through someone else. If you let go while on the Stair, you'll be left behind in a place that will likely be unpleasant, along with everyone behind you."

"Oh," said Rachel in a small voice. "I'll be at the back, then."

"Fine," said Arthur. "Leaf, you get in front of her. Then Nico, then Reyna, Fred, and Suzy behind me, okay?"

Everyone hastily scrambled to follow instructions. This was entirely Arthur's area of expertise, so even natural leaders like Reyna went into subordination. Soon the group was lined up as per Arthur's instructions.

"Okay," he said, projecting the confidence that Leaf knew he must be faking. "Grab on tight to the clothing of the person in front of you, and I mean it when I say tight. Do _not_ let go, even at the landings, until we get to our final destination."

"Speaking of final destinations," said Fred, "where exactly are we going?"

"Huh," said Arthur, slightly surprised. "You know, I was so worked up about traveling the Stair, I haven't even thought of that."

"New York City," said Reyna confidently. "We should go there."

All eyes turned on her. "Why?" Nico asked. "Do you have a plan?"

"The beginnings of a plan," Reyna replied. Leaf couldn't argue, it was more than she had.

"New York City, then," said Arthur. "Again, hold on tight, don't let go, and keep with the pace I set, we're going to be moving quick."

The Rightful Heir turned away from them and faced forward. Leaf couldn't tell from where she was standing, but it seemed to her at Arthur's face was a mask of concentration. Nothing seemed to be happening, however, as everything was completely still. _Is this how it's supposed to work?_ Leaf wondered. After two whole minutes, Leaf was just about prepared to say something, when a blaze of light lit the room.

Directly in front of Arthur, a fiery outline in the shape of a stair blazed brightly. "Let's go!" Arthur shouted. He took a step forward, and it seemed to Leaf that he actually stepped on the stair he drew. _How is that possible?_ Leaf though, before realizing that she shouldn't be surprised by anything at this point.

Suzy followed Arthur, and the line moved forward in sync. At the top of Arthur's drawn stair, his body began to disappear, as if erased by a pencil eraser. Soon he was completely gone, as was Suzy, then Fred, then Reyna…

Leaf closed her eyes as it was her turn to mount the Stair. She stepped on the blaze of fire, and was very surprised to discover that it felt solid. She climbed up the fiery stair, and when she reached the top she was no longer in Saturday's executive office. Instead, she was completely surrounded by a powerful, white light. The steps beneath her feet were no longer fire, but were a fine, beautiful marble.

"Keep moving!" Arthur commanded. "We cannot stop or we'll be left behind!"

The pace that Arthur set was fast and hurried, but everyone managed to keep up. Leaf pushed her muscles, determined not to fall behind and doom herself and Rachel to a terrible fate. She held the back of Nico's shirt in a death grip as if her life depended on it, because, in fact, it did.

The steps ascended in a straight line, the bright, white glare unrelenting. Leaf was afraid that she would trip, since running on stairs was very hard, but she miraculously managed keep her feet, as did everyone else. Up front, Arthur seemed to be moving along just fine, but Leaf knew that he could not keep it up forever. She hoped that it wouldn't be much longer.

They saw the first landing a minute before they got there. To Leaf's eye, the Stair in front of her seemed to end in bright pool of light, without continuing up the other side. She knew that the pool of light would lead to a landing, and she turned out to be right. Arthur disappeared into the light, followed by each person until Leaf herself went through.

They were in a barren desert, choked earth and hot sand the only land in sight. The There was not a living plant to be seen. In the sky, there was not a single cloud, and the sun shone harshly upon the earth. There were no living creatures, either, save for a black speck high up in the sky, which Leaf assumed was some carrion bird.

"No one let go!" Arthur shouted emphatically. "I have to find the Stair again, or we'll be stuck here permanently!" He began frantically turning his head left and right, desperately looking for something; Leaf couldn't guess what. "A desert," Arthur muttered, "it had to be a desert!"

"Arthur, look there!" Suzy shouted, pointing to something. Leaf squinted her eyes, trying to make out what it was. Given that the harsh sun was reflecting brightly off the sand, it was difficult for Leaf to make out anything at first. She squinted harder, though, and finally saw what Suzy was referring to,

"A rattlesnake?" Leaf asked, but Arthur didn't pay attention. Wasting no time, Arthur grasped the Seventh Key in his hand and muttered something inaudible. The snake, which was previously slithering away nonchalantly, suddenly seized up and straightened like a pole. It levitated in the air, and began to bend, slowly taking the shape of a stair.

"Come on!" Arthur ordered, striding to the snake. He climbed the snake as if it were a stair, and disappeared like before. The others soon followed.

Then they were back on the Stair. When Leaf reentered it, expecting to be ready for it, she instead found herself slightly startled. Most of it was the same as before, the bright light, the marble, the unending number of steps. Instead of ascending in a straight line, however, the Stair now ascended in a tight spiral, which caught Leaf off guard. Even worse, the tight spiral meant that Arthur was cut off from her line of vision. She hoped it wouldn't matter.

"Oh man," Rachel grunted behind her. "How much longer is it?"

"I don't know," Leaf admitted, answering without turning around or slowing down. "From the little that I know, the Stair extends throughout the whole Universe. It could still be a very long trip."

Rachel groaned wearily. Leaf noticed that her breathing was heavy, and that she did her best not to stumble.

"You'll make it," Leaf promised, trying to sound upbeat and motivational for her new friend. "We're gonna get there, you just have to keep pushing, Rachel."

"That…didn't…motivate me much," Rachel wheezed. "Still…tired."

"Okay, I'll put it another way," said Leaf. "If you _don't_ keep pushing, you'll be left behind forever."

"Better," said Rachel in an alarmed tone. Behind her, Leaf could sense that Rachel had found more energy. She smiled to herself. _Fear is a way better motivator than success and accomplishment._

Leaf was about to say something in reply when a bright light flashed around her. It was a second landing, she saw. Unlike the first one, this one came out of nowhere; one second she was climbing the Stair, the next she was…wherever she was.

They were in a wide plain full of tall grass. It could've been Earth, it could've been somewhere else entirely; Leaf didn't know. Right in front of them was a large, blue lake that gleamed like a sapphire. There was a fresh, warm breeze that threaded its way through the grass, making a pleasant rustling sound.

 _Wait_ , Leaf thought _, that's not the wind_.

Without letting go of Nico, Leaf turned her head to see two creatures emerge from the tall grass. The monstrous creatures certainly were not of Earth, Leaf was sure. They each bore the head of one animal and the body of another. The creature on the left had a lion's body coupled with an ape's head, while the other was a lizard's body sporting a rhinoceros head. Both creatures were menacing, and both looked extremely angry.

"Arthur, we have a problem," Fred pointed out, somewhat unnecessarily.

"I can see that," Arthur replied briskly. "You guys have to hold them off while I find the Stair!"

"Uh, how are we supposed to do that if we can't let go?" Leaf asked, but she did not receive a reply, as Arthur had already set to work.

Then one of the creatures charged.

Leaf had a pocket knife in her hand the instant it did. She had picked it up in Sunday's Elysium before they left to capture Aphrodite, hoping it would come in handy. Now she brandished it, looking for the best way to jam it into that ugly ape head. She tried to time it right, tried to time it so that she could plunge it into the creature with her free hand before it could maul her or anyone else.

Just as she figured out the aiming right, a dagger shot out of nowhere and buried itself in the creature's eye. It died instantly, and the other creature bolted immediately.

"Hey!" Leaf complained. "I had that!"

Reyna shrugged, flexing her wrist. "I guess not."

Leaf scowled, but it was a joking scowl in response to Reyna's smug look.

"Hey, guys, let's go," said Arthur. Everyone turned to him, and gasped at his handiwork. He had used the Key to create waves on top of waves in the lake, then froze the water so that it vaguely looked like steps.

"Nice going, Arthur," Nico praised, which was weird, since Nico hardly ever praised anyone.

"Thanks," Arthur replied confidently. "Now, let's get moving, unless you'd fancy living with those hybrid monsters for eternity."


	13. The Wise One

CHAPTER 13: The Wise One

The Stair did not send them to a third landing. When the bright pool of light shone again, and Arthur stepped through it, he was immensely relieved to see the neat grass and straight trees of Central Park, Manhattan. It was a strange sight, Central Park, a seemingly rural area completely surrounded by a pack of towering skyscrapers. _Welcome to the concrete jungle,_ Arthur thought.

Still he was glad to be there, and even more glad to have survived his trip through the Improbable Stair. He had carried not one, not two, but _six_ people with him, a feat that he knew he should be proud of. Understandably, though, all he felt was immense relief.

Strange to say, he had thought that he knew all there was to know about the Stair, but on this last trip he discovered something new. The more confident one was when using the Improbable Stair, the easier and quicker the journey would be. If you were unconfident, then the Stair would be unconfident, sending you to this landing and that, but if you had the right confidence, then the Stair would deposit you quickly and safely at your desired destination. It was no wonder Arthur stopped at five or six landing the first time he used the Stair, but Sir Thursday went directly to his destination on the raid against the Nothing Spike in the Great Maze.

A knock on Arthur's head snapped him back to the present.

"Hello?" Suzy was saying. She was knocking on his head like one would knock on a door.

"I'm here, I'm here," Arthur replied. "Jeez, Suzy, a tap on the shoulder would've been sufficient.

The Piper's Child shrugged and grinned. "Just 'ad to make sure your noggin was in there. Reyna here wants to tell us about her plan."

"Yes, my noggin is indeed in my head," Arthur assured her.

"Glad to hear it!" Suzy exclaimed, patting Arthur on the back.

"Okay," said Reyna, "now that we have, uh, checked on Arthur's brain, let's get back down to business. Capturing Athena."

"Right," said Nico. "I hope this plan of yours is good, Reyna."

"It's the best I can think of," Reyna replied. "The basic goal here is to throw Athena off her game. If we can do that, if we can get her to not think clearly, then we have a chance to get her."

"But that's exactly the problem," Nico protested. "She's the wisdom goddess, she _always_ thinks clearly."

Reyna smiled. "Not always."

Nico shot her a confused look, and Arthur imagined that everyone else was confused as well.

"Look, guys," Reyna sighed. "You're gonna have to trust me on this one. It's the only plan we've got."

Everyone looked around at each other, a bit uncertain. Arthur had no clue what this plan was, but like Reyna said, it was the only one they had. More importantly, he felt like he had to show some trust in Reyna. They wouldn't be able to succeed if they didn't trust each other, Arthur knew.

"Okay," he said. "I'm in."

Around him, everyone nodded their heads.

"Good," said Reyna.

"So, now that I vouched for you, can you tell us the plan?"

"With pleasure," said Reyna with a small smile. "I hope you're up for a cab ride, Arthur."

* * *

Nearly three hours later, Arthur and Reyna were in the back seat of a cab, zooming through the countryside. The others had been left behind in Central Park, waiting for Arthur and Reyna to finish whatever they needed to do. They had told them that they would be back soon, but the traffic was murder.

During the ride, Reyna and Arthur didn't speak much, which surprised Arthur. On the elevator up to Saturday's office, Reyna had asked all sorts of questions about Arthur's past adventures; he'd thought she would want to know more. _I suppose it's a good thing she's quiet, I'm not really up for reliving those experiences now._

On the other hand, Arthur knew precious little about Reyna. He knew that she was a demigod, the daughter of that war goddess that suddenly appeared at the meeting. He knew that she, along with Nico and Rachel, had had many past adventures of their own. What he didn't know was what their lives were like, being involved with the Greek and Roman gods, and why they had suddenly decided to switch sides. He knew that the gods were bad, of course, but still, to abandon everything they'd ever known… It must've taken a whole lot of courage, which Arthur greatly admired.

He also had another burning question, but one for Art, not for Reyna. He couldn't stop wondering why, out of anyone, were these three chosen to join in the campaign against the gods? He could understand the need to have someone present who knew the ins and outs of that world, but why those three? Art said himself that he already had made a deal with the minor gods in exchange for their testimony at trial, so why not use their advice? Why send three demigods, and why these three?

"We're here," said Reyna. She took some money out of her bag (where she got it, Arthur had no clue), and paid the cabbie, getting out of the taxi in a hurry.

"We're here?" Arthur asked. "This is just empty farmland." He spread his hands, indicating the vast expanse of grassy field, dotted with tall trees.

"Camp Half-Blood is about a half mile east of here," Reyna explained. "We can't just drive up to Half-Blood Hill, they'd see us. We have to lay low, and keep out of sight until we're close enough to the hill."

Arthur shrugged, and began to follow Reyna's lead as she crouched down on all fours.

"We have to crawl for a half mile?" Arthur asked.

"Just to be safe," Reyna confirmed. "It'll be over before you know it. If you could use that Key of yours to mask us, that's even better."

Arthur sighed inwardly, low enough so that Reyna could not hear. He was very reluctant to use the Key, as using the Key increased the sorcerous contamination within his bones, transforming him into a Denizen of the House. He had gotten lucky the last time, that Art had decided to split Arthur off into a second entity, giving him back his normal life. He didn't want to push it by becoming a Denizen _again_.

Still, he felt himself complying with Reyna's request, using the Key to mask them, but in a very limited fashion. They were not completely hidden from sight, as Reyna would have desired. Arthur had simply made it so that they would blend into the grassy ground a bit better, nothing more.

The grass was itchy, and the ground was hard, which made crawling on all fours extremely difficult, but Arthur kept his complaints to himself. Reyna knew this landscape better than he did, and if she felt it necessary to crawl on all fours, then that's what he would do. It did pass quick, though, and eventually Arthur saw a hill rising in the near distance.

There were two things on the otherwise bare hill. The first thing he noticed surprised him. It was a tall, healthy pine tree that looked extremely out of place given the landscape. Its needles were green and robust, but that's not what caught Arthur's eye. Hanging on one of the branches was a bright, golden object that looked like some sort of cloth. It was very captivating. Siting coiled around the tree was a small dragon, who seemed to be protecting the golden object.

The second item on the tree was a large statue, a beautiful statue of gold and ivory. It seemed to radiate light, authority, and power. The statue was a depiction of a tall, imposing woman with an authoritative glare. She was dressed for war, wearing full body armor and a helm. In the palm of her hand sat a small, winged figure that looked up to the woman. The presence of this statue, however, did not surprise Arthur, because that's what they were here for.

"The Athena Parthenos," said Reyna quietly. "The most important statue to the Greeks. And to Athena herself."

Arthur looked over to Reyna, and saw surprising look of awe and uncertainty on her face. She had been so confident earlier, where did this suddenly come from?

"Uh, Reyna?" Arthur asked. "Are you okay? I thought you wanted to go through with this."

"I—I do," she said, "but, looking at the statue in person, I realize I feel a small something for it." She turned to face Arthur. "That statue didn't always stand on that hill, you know. I escorted it here myself, with Nico's assistance. I did it as a gesture of peace, to restore harmony between the Greeks and the Romans. That statue is a symbol of that peace, of the peace I worked hard to bring about, and I'm just not sure what will happen if we…"

"Reyna," Arthur said firmly, looking her in the eye. "Peace or no peace isn't decided by a simple statue, but by the commitment of the two sides themselves. If both sides want peace, then they can strive for peace."

"You're right," Reyna relented, shaking her head. "I was acting silly. Let's get on with it, then."

"Yeah…about that," Arthur said slowly. "When you told me about this plan, there was one thing you failed to mention."

"Oh?" Reyna asked. "And what, pray tell, would that be?"

"The statue is forty feet tall!" Arthur exclaimed. "Transporting it will take a serious amount of sorcery from the Key."

"So?" Reyna asked. "I thought you could do anything with the Key."

"I can," said Arthur. He sighed, calming down slightly. "You don't understand, Reyna. When it comes to a Key, it uses you as much as you use it. The more you use it, the more sorcerous contamination is infused in your body. If enough contamination occurs, you could be irrevocably turned into a Denizen."

"Oh," said Reyna in a small voice. "Why didn't you say this before?"

"I thought the statue was smaller," Arthur replied. "A forty-foot statue, and two humans. It'll be a lot of sorcery." He sighed again, this time in resignation. "I suppose I'll do it, though."

Reyna's eyes lit up. "You will?"

Arthur nodded. "For the good of Earth."

Reyna clasped him on the back and smiled. "You, Arthur Penhaligon, are a brave person."

"Thank you, Reyna," Arthur replied. He turned back to the Athena Parthenos, and stretched out a hand toward it. The other hand went to his chest, where the Seventh Key hung around a golden chain.

"Grab onto me," Arthur instructed. Once he felt Reyna's hand grabbing onto his arm, he closed his eyes. Deep inside his mind, he imagines the grassy field in Central Park in which his friends were waiting. He imagined the Athena Parthenos on that field, with Arthur and Reyna standing beside it. He fixed that image in his mind, grabbed tightly onto the Key, and said, "Transport!"

There was a quick, bright flash of light, and suddenly they were back in Central Park. Arthur could feel the soft grass beneath his feet, and could hear the distant sound of city traffic. His friends were right where they had left them, their bored looks instantly replaced by alert ones. Which was good, because the second phase of the plan required complete alertness.

As Arthur had known would happen, thanks to Reyna and Nico, the Athena Parthenos turned a deep red. The statue was able to defend itself, according to them, and would do so as soon as it was taken from its proper place.

"Fred, quick!" Reyna shouted. "Before it fires!"

Fred was already on it. He was fumbling, ever so desperately, for something in his general's uniform. The statue continued to glow, while Fred continued to search.

"Fred!" Arthur shouted. "Hurry!"

"Got it!" said Fred. At the same time, the Athena Parthenos shot out a blast of hot fire straight at Arthur. He could feel the heat of the blast coming toward him, and his brain froze. Fortunately, Suzy, who was nearby, was more on her toes. She crashed into Arthur and pushed him out of the way, landing on top of him as she did so. A second later, Arthur heard a giant band, followed by a sound of impact.

"Thanks," Arthur mumbled.

"Wouldn't be the first time I saved you," Suzy replied with a wink. They both got up to see what had happened.

Where Arthur had been standing a mere second earlier, the ground was burned to a crisp, a blackened patch in the middle of the green field. That black spot, however, was little compared to the giant mound of black liquid in the center of the field where the Athena Parthenos was standing. A little further away, a small trail of smoke trickled out of Fred's Nothing launcher, the kind that Artful Loungers and Internal Auditors used.

"Nice job, Fred," Reyna commended. She looked a bit sad, probably for the reason she had mentioned to Arthur earlier, but she looked determined as well.

"Thanks," said Fred. "Now what do we do?"

"Now, we wait for—"

Reyna was interrupted as a loud, piercing scream roiled down from the sky. Next to the Nothing lump that was the Athena Parthenos, a bright light flashed and then faded. Standing there was a tall woman, wearing armor, with straight blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. Grey eyes that were filled to the brim with anger and pure hatred.

"You—you destroyed my statue!" Athena yelled angrily. For a goddess that was supposed to be wise and clear-minded, she sure looked decomposed. But then again, Arthur remembered, that was the point.

"Scatter!" Reyna shouted. Instantly, the group of seven ran in completely different directions. As soon as they did, Athena bellowed something about death and destruction, and flung some bright projectile at one of them.

Arthur ran as fast as he could. He was seemingly running at random, not caring about his direction due to terror of being killed, but that wasn't the case. He was only pretending to do so, but was really running a memorized route that was carefully planned out by Reyna and Fred before she and Arthur had left.

 _Left, another left, right, around the pond,_ Arthur thought, running the directions through his head. Boy was he glad to have a Key with him, because if he hadn't he would've surely had an asthma attack at this point. He kept running, following his directions, until he approached the desired spot.

As soon as he got there, he quietly assessed the situation, and found that it had gone according to plan. Athena had followed and chased the one who had actually destroyed the statue: Fred. Fred was currently trapped, cornered between a boulder and a hedge, with no hope of escape. Athena was bearing down on him slowly, a menacing look on her face.

"You fool!" she screamed. "That statue was mine! It was the symbol of Ancient Greece, and of their patron goddess, myself! The Romans took it, and hid it, but it was finally returned, finally! And now you have destroyed it! You will pay such a hefty price, the Fates themselves will shiver with fear once they've learned of it!"

Fred, despite all of the threats and screams, kept a calm look on his face, as befit a general in the Army of the Architect. For while it seemed like Athena cornered Fred, it was Athena who was actually trapped.

Arthur crept out from where he was hiding, moving slowly so as not to alert Athena to his presence. Luckily, she was so blinded by rage that she did not notice a thing outside of Fred. Arthur crept up until he was standing right behind her, and waited for the signal.

The signal came in the form of a flying rock that struck Athena in the head.

"Gah!" she yelled in fury.

At the same time, Arthur lashed out with the Old One's chain, which he had in his hand.

 _"_ _In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you!"_

The goddess of wisdom shouted as she was chained, the familiar blue light enveloping her until the chains were around her wrists. She struggled mightily against them, more so than the two gods before her, but there was no way she could escape.

"What is the meaning of this!" the goddess exclaimed.

"This is called justice," Arthur replied coldly. "I, Arthur Penhaligon, Rightful Heir to the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the goddess Athena, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days."

As Arthur was issuing his official declaration of arrest, the others were stepping out of the hiding places that Reyna had designated for them.

"You will all suffer!" Athena declared, looking at each of them in turn. "The Olympians are aware of what you're doing, and they will not stop until the perpetrators are found and punished! You will all suffer, especially you three, the three traitors!" She glared mightily at Reyna, Nico, and Rachel. "I am not shocked at this betrayal. I knew I should never have trusted a Roman! Nor should I have trusted a wily, dark son of Hades, or a foolish mortal that Apollo decided to prop up on his feeble strings. The one who destroyed my statue will pay the most, though, as will the one who struck me in the head with a rock! You will…mmfmmfm!"

Athena's words were muffled mid-sentence and Suzy took out a cloth and gagged the goddess. "What?" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I got tired of 'em complaining, so I came prepared."

"Oh, trust me, you're fine," Nico replied with relief. "If she had gone on much longer I don't know what I would've done first: shoot her, or shoot myself."

That received general laughter amongst the group. Arthur smiled, glad that they were gelling together nicely.

"Props to Reyna for the most convoluted plan ever," said Rachel, who was beaming. Reyna nodded her head. "And to Fred, for destroying the statue." Fred smiled kindly. "And to Suzy, for the nice shot to the head, and the gag." Suzy took a sweeping bow, causing more laughter.

"Alright," said Arthur. "Who's ready for a trip on the Improbable Stair?"

"Are you sure you're up for that?" Nico asked. "You now have a goddess to carry."

"Don't worry," assured Arthur, smiling to himself. "Something tells me this will be a much shorter trip."


	14. To Be a Hero

CHAPTER 14: To Be a Hero

Annabeth was sitting on the ground in the park, deep in thought after the news she had just heard. Piper was sitting next to her, her brown-haired head on Annabeth's shoulder, and her face stained with tears. Jason was sitting to the other side, a comforting hand around her back. Hazel sat silently, her eyes unfocused and watery. The rest of them were sitting nearby, all gathered before a cloud of mist with a rainbow reflection.

They had just reached Charleston, South Carolina, when Chiron had urgently sent them an Iris-message, informing them of some grave news. They were still digesting the information, and Chiron was silently waiting for them.

Finally, Annabeth spoke up. "Are you sure that they are all captured, Chiron? Maybe they're just away."

Chiron shook his head. "No god or goddess would be away from Olympus for so long, Annabeth. And not all at once. Something is certainly wrong!"

"I'll say," Percy muttered. "First Reyna, Nico, and Rachel go missing, and then Apollo and Aphrodite are said to be captured, along with, wait, which minor gods?"

"All of them," Chiron answered. "And it's not just on Olympus, either. I got word that Hades and Persephone have gone missing as well. This has serious repercussions! The security in the Underworld will weaken. We may have dead spirits roaming freely if Hades isn't returned!"

"So what can we do, Chiron?" Jason spoke up. "Whoever has taken this many gods is way beyond us."

"It doesn't matter," said Chiron firmly. "We still have to try and find them, no matter what. I've received direct word from Zeus. He has instructed me to send all of the demigods I have to search for the missing gods. He told me to tell Praetor Zhang that those instructions apply to Rome as well."

Frank stood up abruptly at the comment. "And what, we're just supposed to stop looking for Reyna and the others? They're missing too!"

Chiron spread his hands. "I am merely relaying instructions, praetor. Zeus is very frantic and irritable at the moment, so I would not ignore him."

"Is it possible that whoever captured the gods also has Reyna and the others?" Leo asked. "Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone."

"I thought we agreed that they ran away on their own, Leo," said Annabeth. "Though it's possible that they did get captured some point after, explaining why they haven't turned up."

"It doesn't matter," said Chiron definitively. "Both camps have all of their demigods out looking, whether they look for gods or campers makes no difference. They can easily keep their eyes peeled for both simultaneously. I will merely inform them that the stakes have risen considerable, and I advise that the Romans should be told that same."

Suddenly the cloud of mist disappeared, as Chiron had ended the message.

Percy sighed. "We can never get a break, can we."

Annabeth felt the same sentiment. It had been less than two weeks since the end of the Giant War, and now there was some new enemy out there, an enemy capable of kidnapping gods.

To her left, new tears were forming on Piper's face. "They took my mom," she sobbed quietly. "First my friends go missing, and now my mom."

"It's okay," Jason whispered to her quietly. "It's all gonna get worked out, you see."

"Guys, come look at this," Frank called suddenly, standing over a patch of grass. Everyone, save Jason and Piper, hustled over to where the praetor was standing. Annabeth peered at the ground, and her eyes widened.

It was the burnt outline of the chain, the same as by the Great Salt Lake.

"This again," said Hazel softly, still upset at the news of her father. "What does it mean?"

"A chain…" Annabeth mused. "A chain. Chains are used to capture people."

"Yeah, _people_ ," Percy replied. "Not gods."

"Percy, look where we are," said Annabeth. "We've been here before. It's the same park that Hazel, Piper, and I saw Aphrodite. It's the same park where she's known to appear, and she's one of the goddesses who's been captured! It can't be a coincidence!"

"So, wait," said Frank. "We trace Reyna to Salt Lake City, and we find an outline of a chain. We go to Charleston, and we find the same chain in the place where Aphrodite likes to hang out. Maybe they were captured by the same person."

"I was thinking the same thing," said Annabeth. "And I have an inkling of who it was that captured them." She slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out a certain squashed top hat, a top hat that bore a lot of confusing words, but among them was one name. Suzy Turquois Blue.

* * *

Rachel's jaw was agape as she slowly wandered through Sunday's Elysium. Since they had been at the whole god-napping thing for a while, they had been given a longer break than usual, by House time. They had returned safely and uneventfully to Saturday's office via Improbable Stair, where Saturday's Dusk along with a cadre of Sorcerous Supernumeraries escorted Athena to where she would be held. They were then given freedom of the House for twenty-four hours House time, after which they would embark again on their next missive.

Rachel spent the first twelve hours of her break sleeping. Catching gods was tiring work, and she hadn't realized how exhausted she was until the collapsed upon her bed. Her sleep was dreamless and deep, the best kind. She then woke up, had some tea and biscuits for breakfast (surprise, surprise), and then took to wandering the Elysium, her favorite part of the House.

She paused for a moment as she walked past a really grand room that contained living flowers that were somehow made of gold. Every now and then she needed to take one of these pauses, to try and wrap her mind around the fact that she was where she was, in a strange, beautiful place, striving to make her own Earth a better place free of meddlesome, greedy gods who caused so much strife. It was all very overwhelming at times, but at those times she paused, took a breath, and kept going. She knew she was doing the right thing.

After a few more minutes of wandering, Rachel came upon the grandest room she'd seen yet, so grand that it made her eyes pop. It was a square room, with walls that were pure white in color. On the walls, written in tiny, golden letters, were millions of words, which closer inspection revealed to be names. Rachel noticed that the names were not constant, either. Each name would be on the wall for a few seconds, then would disappear, to be replaced by another name. This caused a flickering sensation to be seen on all four walls of the room.

What made the room truly impressive, however, were the tall, bronze statues. There were five of them, standing in a circle that surrounded a small fountain and facing outward. Rachel walked closer, looking at each statue in detail. One depicted some sort of officer with long hair, one depicted a young-looking fellow with some small object in his hand, one depicted an old, grizzled sailor, one depicted another old man, this one wearing a toga, and the last depicted a woman with a beautiful face and a piercing gaze.

"I see you've found the Room of Remembrance," said a familiar voice. Rachel turned and found that it was Arthur that stood in the doorway, a wan smile on his face.

"The Room of Remembrance?" Rachel asked. "What's that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Arthur replied. "It's a room to remember all of the Denizens who died when the first House was destroyed." A pained look crossed his face, but he continued. "You see, only those who were in the presence of a Key for an extended period of time could be resurrected. And precious few Denizens fell into that category."

"That's sad," said Rachel. She remembered what Lord Sunday had told them that very first day, about how the House was destroyed the first time. "I hope you don't blame yourself for what happened."

Arthur shook his head. "I know it wasn't my fault. There was no way I could've known what the Architect had planned."

Arthur walked further into the room, looking up at the grand, bronze statues.

"Who were they?" Rachel asked. "They must've been very important."

Arthur nodded. "They were the only superior Denizens who died and couldn't or wouldn't be brought back. "That's the Lieutenant-Keeper of the Front Door." He pointed to the officer. "I didn't see him all that much, but he was very helpful to me on several occasions." He moved on, pointing to the young-looking man. "That's the Piper. He looked like that for most of his existence, but was changed when Saturday threw him into the Void. We were enemies, but he was Sunday's brother, and his Children and Rats were amazing, so he was included."

"Rats?" Rachel asked.

"The Piper once gathered a bunch of rats, made them intelligent, and brought them to the House," Arthur answered. He swallowed hard. "Unfortunately, there are no more Raised Rats after what happened. And the Piper's Children…" Arthur but his quivering lip. "There's only Suzy and Fred left."

Rachel put a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder, hoping to cheer him up a little. She could tell that this room was very hard for him.

Arthur composed himself, and moved on. "That grizzled sailor is the Mariner," he said. "He was a great friend of mine. Sacrificed himself so that I could claim the Seventh Key from Sunday, and he'd helped me a few other times before." A flash of sadness crossed his face, but, again, he bit it back. "Next is the Old One. He also helped me once or twice, chained to that clock of his. He didn't deserve what he got, not at all, but he's part of the Architect, and so dies with Her."

Arthur circled around coming to the last statue, the one of the woman. "And that…that is Dame Primus. The Architect's Will. Part of the Architect Herself, actually. Wanting to die, the Architect turned her remaining essence into the Will, which the Trustees broke and all. You know the story."

Rachel stared up at the figure with a new sense of reverence. So that's what the Architect looked like. In some ways, she was surprised. She wasn't expecting the godlike Architect, who created the entire Universe, to look so human. Yet, at the same time, she wasn't surprised by the Architect's appearance. Her stern face made it clear that She was the one in charge, and those piercing eyes made all those who looked at them want to obey.

"She was one heck of a pain to deal with," said Arthur, gazing up at Dame Primus, "but, strangely, I miss her, too. She did help me out, a few times. You could add her to the list of people I'd be dead without."

"That's the thing about being a hero, Arthur," said Rachel wisely. "We all have lists like that, a mile long. No one can ever do it alone."

"There's one problem with that," Arthur replied, a sad smile on his face. "I'm not a hero." He then silently walked out of the room.

Rachel stood there for ten minutes longer, lost in thought at Arthur's words. _I'm not a hero_. Was that true? Were any of them heroes?

It was a tough question. Rachel knew what a hero meant in terms of mythology, people who, at the gods' command, went out on dangerous journeys to achieve some end for the immortals that sent them. That's what the seven of the Great Prophecy (which she had uttered) did, the gods commanded them to go save them, and so they went. Without a single thought.

 _That's not what I'm doing_ , Rachel realized. No, she was doing what she did out of her own volition. She wasn't some grand adventurer who trekked the world fighting monsters with glorious weapons for some god, she was doing small things, for the improvement of the world. And she was doing them at her own behest.

"He's right," Rachel said aloud. "We're not heroes."

And the thought made her happy.

* * *

The skies above Central Park were clear and blue. Annabeth was atop Blackjack with Percy, her hands around his waist, both for safety and for comfort. The rest of the group was nearby, either in the air or close to the ground, as they followed the two metallic dogs that were their guides.

Not twenty minutes after their conversation with Chiron, the two dogs had begun sniffing the air, and took off northward. That was late Thursday evening. It was now Friday morning, a clear, beautiful day, and the dogs had led them to Central Park in Manhattan. Annabeth smiled to herself as she recalled the memory of the dogs hounding across the George Washington Bridge, nearly causing a traffic nightmare, but her fond memory didn't last long, as she recalled the seriousness of the current situation.

Percy guided Blackjack onto a small field in the park where Aurum and Argentum had stopped. The rest of their friends also gathered in that area, and the metallic hounds were circling a single spot, sniffing intently.

"What do you think is down there?" Annabeth asked Percy, indicating the spot that the dogs were sniffing at.

"I'll give you three guesses," Percy replied.

Sure enough, what awaited them was another burnt outline of a chain on the grass, in a corner between a boulder and a hedge. That, however, was the least surprising revelation in the field. More toward the center was a giant, circular black patch on the ground that everyone stood gaping at. It didn't look burnt, it was as if all of the grass had suddenly disappeared and was replaced by some black circle. There were a couple of other burnt patched throughout the field, though these were not definitively shaped.

"It looks like another god was captured," Frank said grimly. "And right under the gods' nose, too."

"I wonder who," said Leo. "I hope it wasn't Calypso…"

"Calypso can take care of herself," said Piper, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It seems like some other stuff happened here, too," Jason pointed out. "First off, what the Hades is that?" He pointed to the large black defilation.

"I don't know," said Percy. Slowly, ever so slowly, he crept toward the patch and leaned down. He stuck out a finger, and placed in on the patch.

Suddenly he recoiled. "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"Percy!" said Annabeth, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Percy, sucking on his wounded finger. He took it out of his mouth and showed it to the rest of the group. It looked mostly undamaged, but there was a small, unmissable scar at the tip of his index finger.

"Okay, stay away from the black stuff, got it," Leo noted.

"Do you have any idea what it might be, Annabeth?" Hazel asked. All of the others' eyes turned to her as well. At first, she was confused, why were they all asking her? _Oh, right, daughter of Athena._

"I've, uh, never seen anything like this," she answered. "I've never read about it either."

"Okay, so we don't know what this stuff is, only that it's dangerous," said Frank. "It doesn't matter, we just have to keep following the hounds."

The hounds, however, had sat down, and were unmoving. Clearly, this Suzy Turquois Blue hadn't moved. Which was good, since it meant she was probably nearby.

"It doesn't look like the hounds are going anywhere anytime soon," said Annabeth. "It means that whoever we're looking for is in the city. We should just wait here, rest up a bit, and then maybe search the nearby area."

Jason nodded. "Resting up a bit sounds good to me."

"But not for too long," said Piper firmly. "I want to find the person that kidnapped my mom, and Reyna and the others."

Suddenly a burst of mist appeared out of nowhere, a rainbow reflection with it. Annabeth knew what that meant. She fished through a pocket of hers, and found a golden drachma, which she tossed into the mist. It disappeared, and the rainbow was replaced by Chiron's face.

"I see you are in New York City already," Chiron said, not bothering with any greetings. "Good. The Olympians will need the nearby aid if it becomes necessary."

"What is it, Chiron," said Annabeth. "Is there news?"

"Yes," said Chiron. "And like the rest, it's not good news. In fact, it's the worst news yet."

"Oh boy," Hazel muttered.

"Strange things happened at camp last night," Chiron explained. "It all started not an hour after we finished speaking last night when you were in Charleston. I ended the Iris-message, brooding over these dark times. I was in the Big House when I suddenly heard a popping noise."

"A popping noise?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Indeed," said Chiron. "I rushed outside, as did most of the camp, but I didn't notice anything wrong immediately. Then my attention drifted to Half-Blood Hill..." Chiron trailed off.

"Chiron," Annabeth urged, "what happened?"

"The Athena Parthenos," said Chiron slowly. "It was gone."

There seemed to be a collective inhale of breath from the group.

"That's not all," Chiron continued. "Not too long after, I received a message from Olympus. Athena has been taken."

Annabeth's eyes widened, and her vision began to blur. At first, she wasn't sure that she had heard correctly. _Athena? Captures? She's too smart for that._ But then it began to settle in. She had not misheard, and Chiron had not misspoken. She was in a complete state of shock, unmoving, and unresponsive.

"Annabeth," Percy called in a gentle tone. "Annabeth!"

No response. She couldn't register anyone speaking, she could barely hear a thing. Only one thought reverberated through her head, that her mother was gone.


	15. Discovery

**A/N: Hey everyone! I usually don't do author's notes, but I thought I'd do one for this chapter because this marks a very special occasion. That's right everyone, this chapter marks the halfway point of this story! I've planned outlines for thirty chapters, and it looks like I'll be able to keep on pace with that. I just want to thank everyone who's read my story up to this point. Stories like these take a lot of time and effort and I'm very glad to see that my effort has succeeded in providing enjoyment for a great many of you. Writing this story has been an absolute pleasure, and I hope you all will like the second half as much as you did the first. Enjoy the chapter!**

CHAPTER 15: Discovery

It was late Friday evening, nearly a day after the local residents of New York City witnessed some strange happenings in Central Park, that another strange thing took place. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a large, fascinating building, with many different floors and wings filled with curious and captivating artistic items. In a span of a second, however, the entire building disappeared, and was replaced by a building far more complex and twisted.

Most people did not notice this switch, in fact, most merely saw the museum when they looked upon that area. There were a select few people, however, a very select few, that were able to see what was truly there. A massive, sprawling house, made up of a jumble of arches, balconies, towers, staircases, and windows, from a wide range of architectural styles. There was no order to the structure of this building, and those who saw it for what it was would have to avert their eyes after a few seconds, as the mass of confusion could make one's head hurt.

At the front of this strange house, or House, as it should be called, was a massive, wooden door. From a distance, the wood looked plain, but if one got close, they could see an endless number of pictures and images, constantly changing and shifting. If one stared for too long, they would find themselves unable to pry away from staring.

It was later on this Friday evening that seven young people, the oldest looked about seventeen, the youngest about twelve, emerged from this door. The doors did not open to let them through, though. They simply walked right through the wood, and out into the streets of Manhattan. An eight figure, wearing a lieutenant's uniform, waved them goodbye before disappearing back through the door.

Suzy Turquois Blue's mouth stood agape as she stepped out of the door. Has she seen a city before? Yes. Had she seen large towers before? Yes. Had she ever seen such a sprawling city like New York? Never. The first thing that struck her was the noise of traffic. There were these vehicles in the streets (someone had called them cars), and when one of them didn't move, the drivers behind would get aggravated and honk their horns, something that Suzy found funny. There was a massive amount of people walking in the streets, all of them walking fast as if under urgent business.

"So," said Leaf, snapping Suzy out of her little daydream. "Back at it again, aren't we."

"Three down, nine to go," said Rachel, trying to be cheery.

"It's not going to be easy," Reyna cautioned. "We just captured Athena, arguably the most powerful Olympian after Jupiter and Neptune. After something like that, Jupiter has likely ordered the remaining gods to not leave Olympus."

"So, we just sneak up onto this Olympus and nap any god that we want," Suzy suggested. Sneaking into the lair of these gods would be a smidge difficult, sure, but if Suzy knew anything, it was that there was no place that she couldn't sneak into.

"Sneak onto Olympus?" said Nico. "That's impossible, Suzy. You'd get caught in an instant."

"I bet you I won't," Suzy challenged.

"Suzy, Nico's right," Arthur admitted. "It's too dangerous. We're better off trying to lure one of them down to Earth."

"And how are we supposed to do that if they've been told to stay put?" asked Suzy.

"They've been ordered by _Jupiter_ to stay put," Reyna explained with a smile. "The thing is, the gods are famous for disobeying Jupiter's orders."

"So, we have a chance," said Fred. "Who did Sunday say we should try and capture next again? December?"

"Demeter," said Rachel with a chuckle. "The goddess of agriculture."

"Huh," replied Fred. "No wonder Sunday wants this one captured, he needs to prove he's got the best garden in the Universe."

"Is there any way we can lure her down here?" Leaf asked. She turned toward Reyna, Nico, and Rachel. "You guys know more about this mythological stuff than any of us. If anyone's gonna come up with an idea, it's you."

"We lured Athena down here successfully," Arthur mused, "because we took something that's precious to her and destroyed it. What's precious to Demeter?"

"Demeter, or Ceres, as I call her, doesn't appear in that many myths," Reyna replied with a frown. "There are no objects that she so adores like Athena did her statue. Maybe my mother knows something that I do not."

"My father might know more," said Nico, "given that Demeter is his sister and that he's married to her…daughter! Persephone!"

"Parsimony?" Fred asked. "What kinds of names do these gods have?"

Nico ignored him. "Persephone," he repeated. "Do you remember what Demeter did the last time Persephone was captured? When my father took her?"

Rachel's eyes widened with realization as she caught on to what Nico was getting at. "She went off the deep end. She searched to the ends of the earth to find her. And now that Persephone's missing again…"

"She's probably doing the same thing!" Reyna finished. "There's no need to lure her to Earth, she's likely already here!"

The three of them looked excited, but Suzy still wore a frown. "Uh, Earth is a big place, you know," she pointed out.

"It is," Reyna replied, "but we don't need to go looking for her at all, because we already have what she wants."

* * *

"You want me to lure my mother to you," Persephone clarified, unsure of what she had just heard. She was quite a pretty goddess, Suzy noted, with long, dark hair, a slim figure, and startling blue eyes. "Why would I do that?"

"We promised you immunity," Arthur replied with a certain sternness. Given that he was the Rightful Heir and all, Suzy knew that it was his place to do the negotiating. "You owe us something for that."

"I believe the terms offered to the minor gods was immunity in exchange for testimony," said Persephone. "This goes far beyond testimony, Mr. Rightful Heir."

"And what testimony were you prepared to give, exactly?" Nico stepped in. "The only god that you could possibly testify against is Hades, and my dad already has immunity."

"I can testify against Zeus," Persephone explained. "He was the one that allowed my capture."

"We already have enough evidence against Jupiter," said Reyna. "Practically every bad thing that happened to this world is his fault; he's as good as guilty without you."

"What we're trying to say," Arthur continued, "is that you no longer need to testify. Instead, we would like you to repay our kindness by bringing us your mother."

Persephone looked indignant. "You…you would have me lure my mother into your hands? Why would I ever do that to her?"

"Because, if you do," said Arthur, "I'll convince Art to give her a lenient sentencing, if she is found guilty."

"Which she likely won't be," Rachel added quickly. "Your mother hasn't done anything terrible in the myths, the worst she did was abandon the world's farmers when you were taken, and she has a good excuse for that."

"Your mythology is fading," said Arthur. "Soon it will be gone. You can rescue your mother from the ruins if you fulfill our request. Bring her here, and her trial will be swift, she'll likely be found innocent of any crime, and before you know it she'll be reunited with you in the Incomparable Gardens, which I know you'll enjoy together."

Persephone looked uncertain, but, after a few minutes of thinking, she nodded. "Okay, but you better not be tricking me!"

"I swear, by the top hat that I wear, we are not tricking you," said Suzy. She took her spare top hat off her head (she had somehow lost her original), and held it out.

"Okay then," said Persephone. "If that's what passes for a promise…never mind. I'll do it."

"Thank you," said Reyna.

"Hide behind those benches," Persephone instructed, pointing to some benches a few yards away. "I've already sent my mother a message, she's already on her way here."

"How long do we have?" Arthur asked.

"About ten minutes or so," said the flower goddess. "When I contacted her, she was searching for me in Montana, Olympus knows why. When she gets here, I'll convince her to come quietly."

"This ought to be boring," Suzy muttered to herself, but she shut herself up nice and quick as Persephone urged them behind those benches.

Ten minutes later, there was a golden flash of light behind a building a block away from where Suzy and her friends were hiding. Across the street, Persephone stood alone in front of the manifestation of the House, trying to play the part of the innocent, lost daughter. Suzy squinted at the golden light, and at the woman that stepped out of it.

She was tall and beautiful, but Suzy was used to that, as all the high nobs of the House were stunningly beautiful as well. Her hair, unlike her daughter's, was straight blonde, and Demeter's beauty was an aged beauty, Suzy could tell. Nevertheless, she was beautiful, the beauty made even greater by the look of pure joy on her face as she beheld her daughter.

"Persephone!" the goddess exclaimed, rushing toward her daughter and enveloping her in a hug. "You're safe! Oh, you're safe!"

"Good to see you too, mother," Persephone coughed, unable to speak clearly with her mother squeezing her so hard.

"Are you okay?" Demeter asked urgently. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, mother, I'm quite well," Persephone replied. "Better than ever, in fact. I was treated quite well."

"Quite well?" Demeter asked, a smattering of confusion running across her otherwise joyous face. "But, you were captured."

"I know it seems that way," said Persephone, "but it is not the truth. You see, mother, I left willingly with them, as did all of the minor gods."

Demeter's eyes widened. "But…but Zeus said…"

"Zeus is wrong," Persephone interjected firmly, squeezing her mother's hand. "Come, let us sit down on these benches, and I will explain. Before I do so, you must promise not to contact Zeus or any of the other gods. You must trust me, mother, that everything will work out for us."

"I—I promise on the River Styx," said Demeter. "Now, please, Olympus is in shambled, the other Olympians are going insane, explain to me what is happening!"

Persephone did as her mother asked, and launched into a brief, yet thorough explanation of the House and all of its workings. She explained that it was an Architect that created the Universe, how it was She that turned two mortals, Gaea and Ouranos, into gods that started the mythology. She explained how, in the eyes of the New Architect, the gods had ruined and devastated Earth, and how now there was a mission to bring the gods to justice for their crimes.

"They made a deal to all of the minor gods in secret," Persephone explained. "They said they would give us immunity and not put us on trial, if we would give testimony against the Olympians. That is why all of the minor gods are gone. They moved to the House."

Demeter's eyes were wide with shock. "You…you made a deal to testify against us?"

"Not against you!" Persephone clarified quickly. "I would never testify against you. I am here to save you, mother, to save you from the horrible fate that awaits the gods."

"And how will you do that?" Demeter replied with skepticism. "These people have already captured three Olympians. Who will protect me, you?"

"I will save the both of us," said Persephone. "I will save the both of us, but you must come with me, and trust me. We must go to the House."

"The House? The one that you just described? Our enemies are there! You want me to turn myself in?"

"Look at the facts, mother!" Persephone insisted. "Look at who is against us. The true ruler of the Universe has come for the gods. I have already spoken with his representatives, and I've made some deals with them. If you come quietly, if you turn yourself in without resistance, they will show leniency toward you. You know yourself, and you know your history. You know that, out of all the gods, you have done the least harm to the world. Turn yourself in, put yourself on trial, and you will likely be found innocent."

"And what then?" Demeter asked, staring blankly ahead. "What if I'm found innocent? I will not be able to return to Earth. I will be stuck in this House of yours until the end of time."

"Yes," Persephone agreed, "but you'll be stuck with me. In the most amazing garden you've ever seen." She eagerly tugged on her mother's sleeve. "Don't you want to see it, mother? It's so grand, and beautiful! You have to come with me, mother, it's the only way to save us!"

"Stuck with you, in the most beautiful garden in the Universe," Demeter said, a bit dreamily. A small smile formed on her face. "That would be nice, my daughter."

"So, will you come?"

Demeter hesitated, closed her eyes, and allowed a solitary tear to run down her cheek. "Yes, Persephone, I will come."

Persephone smiled, and then laughed like a little child who just got presented with a gift. "Thank you, mother, you don't know how relieved I am. The representatives of the New Architect are here to bring us with them to the House."

Realizing that that was their cue, Suzy and the others stepped out of their hiding spots. In Arthur's hand, the chain of the Old One radiated power.

"So, these are the mighty ones that have been kidnapping gods," Demeter noted, a bit of humor in her voice. "Children, most of them about twelve and thirteen…Ah! Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, and Nico di Angelo. Rachel Dare, too. I've been wondering where you've all been. It's been a week since you've gone missing. I should've known you've gotten involved in all of this mayhem."

"We made a choice," said Nico. "As did you. I think we both chose correctly, Demeter."

"I'm beginning to think I agree," said Demeter. "I suppose we gods have been very nasty. I regret to have been part of such misrule, but I suppose I will pay a small price for that."

"You should know that the gods will be tried on an individual basis," said Arthur. "From what I hear from my friends, the chances of you being found guilty are very small." He stepped forward authoritatively, chain in hand. "This is only a formality. Since you came so willingly, you will be housed in much nicer conditions than the previous gods we have captured as you await trial."

"Do what you must," said Demeter.

Arthur held out one end of the chain, which Demeter grasped. _"In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you."_ The blue aura of the chain enveloped Demeter, but she did not cry out in pain. _It probably doesn't hurt if you don't fight back_ , Suzy figured.

Soon, Demeter was chained, which, to her credit, she did not complain about. "Don't worry, mother," Persephone assured. "We're going back to the House, and they promised you'll be treated well."

"Just one more thing," said Arthur. "I, Arthur Penhaligon, Rightful Heir to the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the goddess Demeter, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days."

Suddenly a loud dog's bark echoed through the evening. Other than the fact that it was loud, there was nothing strange about it. Still, a small tickle of discomfort trickled down Suzy's neck, and not the good kind that got caught in Denizens' throats.

"Let's hightail it back to the House," said Suzy. "I've got a bad feeling 'bout something."

"Me too," said Reyna, her face stark and serious.

Suzy wasted no time in walking to the Front Door, which she knocked on twice to signal the new Lieutenant-Keeper. The rest of the group gathered close, ready and eager to reenter the House.

Suddenly, from a few blocks away, someone, in a voice of astonishment, shouted a name. It was from far away, and the noise of the city was loud, but the name was unmistakable.

"Reyna!"

The daughter of Bellona whipped her head toward the noise, and her eyes widened in astonishment. "It's Frank!" she exclaimed. "Quick, we have to get inside the House!"

"Reyna! Nico! Rachel!" More people appeared next to the one Reyna called Frank, Suzy saw. Six other young adults, four boys and three girls in total. And they were hurrying toward them.

"We have to get inside, please hurry!" Nico urged.

Suzy desperately knocked on the door again, but the Lieutenant-Keeper did not appear.

"I thought you swore not to contact anybody!" Arthur exclaimed.

"I swear I did not!" Demeter replied. "You must hurry! I don't want them to capture me back!"

"Come on, come on," Suzy muttered. "Lieutenant-Keeper, where are you!"

"There almost here!" Rachel yelled.

Sure enough, the teenagers were a block away. And getting closer.

"Miss Blue, calling again so soon?" a voice asked. Suzy turned back toward the Door urgently, glad to see the Lieutenant-Keeper standing there.

"Come on, let's go!" Suzy shouted. The others immediately sprang into action. Leaf was first through the Door, Suzy rushing her in urgently. Fred followed next.

"Come on, mother!" Persephone urged.

"You first, my daughter!" Demeter insisted. There was not time for arguing. Suzy grabbed Persephone and shoved her gently through.

"You lot go through next," Suzy told Reyna, Nico, and Rachel. Rachel didn't argue, leaping through the wooden Door. Arthur was still there, insisting on helping everyone else through, but he also held Demeter's chain. "Arthur! What are you doing, you have to go in!"

Arthur looked to argue, but Suzy was wearing a look that brooked no argument. Arthur rushed to the Door and went in, helping Demeter do the same.

"Reyna!" Frank cried. His voice was incredibly close. Suzy turned around and saw that all seven of them were mere yards away, standing the still. Based on the shocked look on their faces, they had seen Demeter in chains being led by Arthur. Reyna and Nico were still outside the House, wearing mixed looks of urgency and guilt.

"Reyna…" a tall, blonde, teenage boy managed. "What…"

Suzy's eyes suddenly drifted downward in Frank's direction, to something he held in his hand.

"My hat!" Suzy exclaimed, her usual brash expression back. She marched unabashedly up to Frank, who was frozen in shock, snatched the hat, and whacked him on the head with it. "And that's for nicking it!"

"What…hey!" Frank exclaimed, striding forward. His face was angry, and Suzy could tell it wasn't just about the hat.

"Go! Go! Go!" the Lieutenant-Keeper shouted, urging them on. Suzy quickly grabbed hold of Reyna and Nico and lunged through the wood. A bright, blue light flashed behind her as the Lieutenant Keeper held the seven teens off. Then they were surrounded by total blackness, as they were fully inside the darkness of the Front Door.


	16. A Slew of Envoys

CHAPTER 16: A Slew of Envoys

There was to be a big meeting, a meeting on Olympus that all of the remaining gods would be required to attend. It would occur at sunrise, as soon as the first glint of sun appeared over the East River. It was to the grand throne room that Hestia was now heading, as sunrise was a mere ten minutes away.

 _All of these gods disappearing, it's likely to be about that_ , Hestia knew. It pained her inside to think about that bad piece of news. The gods were her family, and Hestia loved her family dearly, not matter what they did to her or each other. She hoped that they would be okay, and that nothing bad would happen to them.

She knew where they were, of course. She was the only god in the entire pantheon that had known about the existence of the House all of these years. She remembered the day she found out very clearly. It was the day she was born, which, being a goddess, she had perfect memory.

She had just come out of Rhea's whom, Rhea, who was so happy at the birth of her first child. As soon as she was born, Rhea had carried her out to Kronos's room, so that she could present him his first child. Kronos, however, was unhappy. A word of prophecy, uttered by his father Ouranos, predicted that just like he overthrew up his father, so would his children overthrow him. So Kronos, to subvert the prophecy, decided to swallow his daughter whole.

Hestia shivered as she remembered the shrieks of her mother, Rhea, as she witnessed her daughter being swallowed. She was the goddess of the hearth, yet her skin felt icy cold each time the memory ran through her mind. And the worst part, the very worst part, was Kronos's reaction. He was laughing.

But then, Hestia could remember clearly hearing a popping noise from inside Kronos's stomach. Her father's laughing cut itself short, and was followed by a 'what is the meaning of this?'

'I represent the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All,' said an informative voice in reply. 'I am here to inform you that your current action has been noted in the records of the House, and the Architect wishes to express her disapproval.'

'So, the rumors are true,' said Kronos, his voice rumbling over Rhea's cries. 'You tell the Architect that She does not rule the earth, I do.'

'Are you sure you wish to go down this road?' the messenger had asked. 'The retribution that will be brought upon you will be terrible.'

'Like I said, She does not rule here,' Kronos replied, slightly annoyed. 'Now leave, before I swallow you too!'

A popping noise immediately followed that as the messenger left, and Kronos resumed his laughing. For the remainder of his rule, there was no more mention of the House or of an Architect, and the promised retribution never came.

Then, Zeus came along, and Hestia and her siblings were free. As soon as she had been regurgitated from Kronos's stomach, a voice had sounded inside her head. The voice explained all that she had heard the day she was swallowed, all about the House and the Architect. She was sworn to secrecy, and so did not speak a word about it to anyone.

Hestia shook her head as she returned to the present. The gods had continued the misrule of Earth that the Titans had started, and worsened it, and the House finally decided to set things to rights. Hestia was very conflicted inside. On one hand, she knew in her heart that the gods had done evil things to Earth, yet on the other, the gods were her family, and she did not want them to feel the brunt of the House's justice.

 _What will be will be_ , she thought sadly. _Whatever happens, I will accept it, however much it burdens me to do so._

"Hestia," a silent voice whispered. The goddess of the hearth jerked her head this way and that as she stood in the halls of the main palace on Olympus, but she didn't see anybody.

"Hestia, over here!" the voice insisted. Hestia looked to her right to see a head sticking out of a door to a supply closet. Looking both ways to see that no one was looking, Hestia rushed inside after the man.

He was tall and refined, and quite handsome. He was dressed in pink, a funny color on a man, and sported a matching umbrella.

"Who are you?" Hestia asked in a low voice.

"My official name is Saturday's Dawn," the man replied, "but you may call me Pravuil. I have a message to you from the New Architect."

"You're from the House," Hestia stated in an unsteady voice. "What is the message."

"It's an offer, in truth," Pravuil explained, "an offer that is very favorable to you. The New Architect, in case you do not know, has a policy of non-interference with the Secondary Realms, of which Earth is part. That requires all of the gods, including yourself, to relocate to the House, even the innocent ones. We request that you do so immediately."

"You wish for me, the goddess of the home, to abandon my home," Hestia clarified with a sniff. "Your enticements must be grand if you think that I will do such a thing."

Pravuil smiled. "As I said, the deal is heavily in your favor. Your mythology and world will soon cease to exist. The Underworld is disappearing, and the dead spirits will no longer exist as you know them. If all of the gods go to the House or are arrested, then Olympus, too, will fade.

"That, however, can be prevented. Olympus will lose its magic and power regardless, but the New Architect can keep the physical structure from fading. If you come to the House with me now, the New Architect will preserve your precious home, which you will be allowed to visit twice a year for a week at a time. In addition, you will not be tried in the Court of Days, and will be allowed to roam the House as you wish."

Hestia didn't reply right away, even though she practically had no choice in the matter. She could either go to the House now and have her home preserved, or stay, be brought to the House anyway in due time, and Olympus would fade. There was only one option for her.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

The Court of Days was quite empty, even though there were twelve people inside. The Court was not in session, but Art wanted to meet with the group, and this was the best place. Reyna and her six friends stood in the courtroom, along with Persephone and Demeter. Art was sitting in his usual spot, and Saturday and Sunday sat below him. The New Architect did not look happy.

"So," he rumbled, "now they know who is capturing the gods, though they don't know on whose orders, or why." He took a deep breath. "I thought you swore, Demeter, not to contact anybody."

Demeter, despite her godly status, looked a tad nervous. "I did not contact anybody, New Architect. I swore on the River Styx that I would not, and I swear now that I did not."

"It's not her fault," Reyna added, not wanting Demeter to get punished for something she did not do. "They were able to track us using my hounds, Aurum and Argentum. I should've recognized their bark the second I heard it."

"It's my fault, too," Suzy put in. "I shouldn't 'ave lost my top hat."

Art sighed. "It was a mistake, that is clear, Suzy, and mistakes are sometimes unavoidable."

Reyna noticed Demeter's slight shock. She was used to gods taking retribution for simple mistakes, but Art had forgiven Suzy instead.

"It seems that it has become fruitless to continue in secrecy," Art continued. "Saturday, you may proceed."

Superior Saturday, dressed as elegantly as always, stood with grace and exited the courtroom.

"You seven shall have time to rest until Saturday returns, upon which we will see what the situation is. You all know the deal, don't leave the House, help yourself to tea, biscuits, other nourishment, blah, blah, blah."

"And what about my mother?" Persephone asked eagerly.

"Art," Arthur stepped forward. "Please, I promised Persephone that Demeter will be housed in good conditions until her trial."

"If that is the case, then I will honor that promise," Art replied. "Give me the Seventh Key, Arthur."

Arthur reached around his neck and removed the Seventh Key from its chain, giving it to Art. Art took it, and beckoned Demeter forward.

"Touch the Key, Demeter. One finger will do." Demeter stepped forward to where Art held the Key in his hand, and laid one finger on it. "Do you, Demeter, swear upon this Key that you will not leave or attempt to escape Sunday's Elysium?"

"I do," the goddess replied without hesitation.

"Do you swear not to harm anyone while you are here in the Elysium?"

"I do."

"Then I grant you freedom of the Elysium," Art concluded. "You may walk anywhere within this sprawling building, but you may not leave it until I, and only I, say otherwise. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Demeter replied gratefully. "Your generosity is greatly appreciated."

Art nodded, and, with a snap, the chain of the Old One popped open, freeing Demeter. Persephone then dragged her out, eager to be free with her mother.

"She will still face trial," Art said to Arthur.

"I know," Arthur replied. "She's a good goddess, though. She gave humans the ability to grow crops, and rarely did anything to harm them. She'll be found innocent."

Reyna couldn't help but agree. More importantly though, they now had four gods in custody. Their mission was turning out to be a success, but she still felt a pang of guilt as she remembered the shocked faces of her former friends. _Yes, my former friends. There's no way they'll be friends with me after this is all over_.

With that sad thought in mind, Reyna could do naught but rest up, and hope the slim hope that things would work out for the best.

* * *

The sun approached high noon, and Piper let out an exhausted yawn. The important meeting on Olympus was initially scheduled for sunrise, so she had woken up extra early to make it to Olympus on time with the others. Apparently the meeting had been delayed for some reason, so she had woken up early for nothing. Not that she slept much after yesterday's shocking revelation.

Like everyone else, she did not want to believe it, but her eyes did not lie to her. Reyna had not been captured, she was free. Nico was free, and Rachel was free, and they were working with this Suzy Turquois Blue and a few others to capture gods and goddesses. She had seen Demeter, chained up and brought through that door into that crazy House, and she had seen those three working with them.

It was very shocking to see what they saw. Reyna, the loyal leader, praetor of the Twelfth Legion, so devoted to Rome, had betrayed the gods. Rachel, the Oracle of Delphi, so kind and sweet, had betrayed the gods. Piper was even surprised by Nico's betrayal. He didn't feel like he belonged at either camp, but it still didn't seem like he would go as far as he did. It made Piper said, and it made Piper angry. They had helped capture her mom, after all.

 _I'm gonna get her back_ , she promised. _And they're going to answer for what they did._

"Pipes," said someone behind her. She knew who it was by voice: Jason, her boyfriend. "The meeting's about to being."

Piper nodded, rousing herself from her deep thinking and following Jason through the white halls of Olympus, past the grand statues and white columns, to the throne room of the Olympians. Normally mortals wouldn't be invited to the councils of the gods, but since this council was about what she and the others had seen, they needed to be present.

As they were walking, Piper looked up at her boyfriend, and was worried by what he saw. His face was gaunt, there were bags around his eyes, and, on the whole, he looked very weak. She could understand why, as Reyna was someone that he had known for a long time. Piper knew he still cared for Reyna, in a friendly way, of course, and this betrayal had hit him harder than most. _If Jason is taking this hard, I can imagine what Frank and Hazel are going through_. The thought made Piper shudder.

After a few minutes of walking, the two reached the throne room. Piper had never seen it before, and when she normally came across something she'd never seen she would stop and admire it for a couple of moments. Now, her thoughts were too preoccupied to give attention to the pure white walls and the elegantly carved thrones. She hardly gave any thought to her silent bow to the eight assembled gods, to Zeus and Hera; Poseidon, Ares, and Artemis; Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus. She merely went through the motions, and turned to stand next to her five other friends with Jason.

Piper then expected the council to begin, but nothing happened Then she heard a galloping noise come from outside, and a moment later Chiron burst into the throne room, giving a quick yet respectful bow as he did so. He then cantered off to the side to stand by his campers.

"We are now ready to begin," said Zeus, his mighty voice ringing off the walls. Piper saw as she looked at him that Zeus also had a gaunt, weary expression, similar to that of his son. His eyes flickered to Chiron, clearly an indication to begin.

Chiron stepped forward. "My lords," he began respectfully. "This meeting has been called by Zeus, at my suggestion, to discuss the strange and horrible occurrences that have happened over the past week or so." He paused to clear his throat, and then continued. "Our entire world, the world of this mythology, is crumbling. The Underworld is in complete disarray, and I fear that the dead spirits will run loose in the mortal world if something is not done. The protective border of Camp Half-Blood is weakening, especially with the disappearance of the Athena Parthenos. And, of course, we have all of the minor gods missing, and five full-fledged Olympians, make it six with this recent news of Hestia's disappearance."

Suddenly the four empty thrones became a lot more noticeable, as did the hearth that was being tended by no one.

"The good news," Chiron continued, "is that we now have an inkling of knowledge as to where they might be, thanks to what these heroes beside me witnessed yesterday." He looked at the seven demigods to his left, and beckoned to them. It was decided that Annabeth would be the one to present their findings, so it was she that stepped forward.

"My lords," she began, "as Chiron mentioned—"

"Speak up, girl!" Hera barked suddenly. "And cut to the point! We have no time for such formalities."

A look of irritation crossed Annabeth's face. Piper then remembered that Hera and Annabeth didn't exactly like each other.

"Please continue," said Zeus wearily. "And fear not my wife. She will remain silent." He glared at Hera, who stuck her nose in the air with a haughty sniff.

"What I have come to say," Annabeth continued, "is that we know who has been capturing the gods, and where they are being taken."

"That's good!" Hephaestus rumbled. "We should send a rescue quest immediately!"

"It's not that simple, Lord Hephaestus," Annabeth cautioned. "They have been taken to this strange and complex House, which has manifested itself where the Metropolitan Museum of Art once stood. We saw the people that have been capturing the gods take Demeter inside. We tried to go after them, but this tall lieutenant appeared and prevented us from entering."

"You couldn't get past one lieutenant?" Hera sniffed. "Pathetic."

"Hera!" Zeus boomed. "I will evict you from this room if you do not silence yourself!"

"The lieutenant was very powerful," Annabeth exclaimed. "One slash of his sword released a pulse of energy that knocked us back a full ten yards. When we returned, he was gone. We tried chopping our way through the wooden doors, but they would not give. That House is a powerful place, strong enough to keep major gods imprisoned. Nothing can break through those doors."

"Are you certain of this?" Artemis asked.

"I tried myself, on my way here," Chiron replied. "Miss Chase is being truthful."

"We will figure out how to get through in a few moments' time," said Zeus firmly. "Let us turn to other matters. Who are the people that are capturing my fellow gods, Miss Chase?"

"So far, all we know of is a girl by the name of Suzy Turquois Blue," Annabeth answered. "She is working with a few others, but we are not sure whether or not they act under someone else's orders."

"These few others, do you know who they are?" asked Poseidon.

"We saw them at a distance," Annabeth replied. "Some other small kids Suzy's age, about twelve or thirteen, and…"

"And?" Zeus asked, impatient.

Annabeth sighed. "Also kidnapping the gods are Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Traitors!" Ares roared.

"Now, now, let's keep our heads," Hermes cautioned. "I know how to deal with demigod betrayal. My son Luke was the worst traitor of all. Losing our minds is not the best way to deal with it, believe me."

"Hermes is right," said Zeus. "The traitors will be dealt with once we defeat our enemies. At least we know where they are. We must now work on a solution to get inside this House of theirs. Then we can send in a few demigods to rescue the captured gods."

Piper couldn't help but sight quietly. Of course it would be demigods that would have to do it. Still, she wanted to. She wanted to go help her mother.

"My lords!" exclaimed an urgent voice. A herald was running into the throne room. "A messenger is here to see you, my lords! An envoy of some sort!"

"Tell the envoy to wait!" Zeus snapped. "We're in the middle of a council!"

"I'm afraid waiting is not an option for you," said a new voice. Piper looked toward the entrance, and saw a stunningly beautiful woman stride in. She had azure hair that hung loose about her shoulders. Her face was angled and refined, and she moved with grace and confidence, back arched and face serene. Her dress was spun of pure gold, and her shoes were a gleaming silver. And she was nine feet tall.

At her side, and a bit behind her, was a very handsome man, though shorter and less refined than the lady. He wore a grey cloak, a black Homburg hat, and sported a flashy cane. Four others entered with them, strange fellows with long, red cloaks and bronze masks.

"What is this?" Zeus roared. "Who are you that dares enter this hall without permission?"

"I am called Superior Saturday," the female answered, causing confused looks among everyone present. "I represent the New Architect, wielder of the seven Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms. I bear a message from him to you."

"A message?" Hera asked with a glare. "You're from this House, aren't you! You captured the gods!"

Superior Saturday smiled. "I did not do it myself, but yes, I had a hand in it."

"We should cast her from the top of Mount Olympus!" Hera declared.

"I agree with my mother," said Ares. "They've taken many of us, we should strike back against one of their own!"

Though threats were being made against her, Saturday just smiled through it all.

"Ah, death threats," Saturday chuckled. "Isn't interesting, Noon, how frequently death threats are made on this Earth?"

"Very interesting, my lady," the grey-cloaked man replied.

"Those of this Secondary Realm will fling a death threat at anyone, even if they don't know who their threatening," said Saturday. "I think it is time, Noon, to show these people who I am."

Suddenly Saturday let loose a wave of her arm, and a bright flash of light zoomed toward the gods. It struck, and in an instant all eight of the gods were knocked off their thrones, and were lying on the floor.

Beside her, Piper's friends drew their weapons, and Piper found herself drawing her own.

"No need for that," said Saturday. "I merely wanted to give these gods a taste of my power, and the power of the House. My message is this: come to the House now, and turn yourselves in to the justice of the New Architect. Your other option is to be brought in chains. One way or another, your tyrannical rule of this planet will come to an end, and you'll be brought to justice."

Without waiting for a reply, Saturday turned on her heel and strode out of the throne room, her entourage following her in perfect step.

"Arggh!" Zeus grumbled as he and the other gods picked themselves up from the ground. "That fool! She will pay for her actions!" He turned to the seven heroes assembled in the throne room. "I have an idea for how to get past the Door to the House. You seven will travel and procure what I need. Child of the Underworld, you know of what I speak."

All eyes turned to Hazel, who looked fearful, but ready. "I do, Lord Jupiter," she said quietly.

"And then you will have them enter the House and spirit the gods away?" Chiron asked.

Zeus shook his head. "No, that is not what I have planned. The people of the House have played us for long enough." He paused, and there was dead silence in the room. "It will be war!"

Somewhere overhead, a thunderbolt crackled. "Rally the armies of Olympus!" Zeus commanded in a booming voice. "Chiron, assemble the Greek demigods. Send word to Lupa to do that same with the Romans. I want all Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones loyal to Olympus to assemble here on this mountain! Artemis, gather your Hunters! Ares, call upon the Amazons! We will take the gods back by force, and then raze the House to the ground!"


	17. A Way In

PART THREE: RESISTANCE

CHAPTER 17: A Way In

It was now Saturday afternoon, and the group of seven were standing in Central Park once more. Percy and Jason had weapons drawn, as did Frank. Annabeth had a book in her hand, doing a quick bit of research for their mission. Leo was looking intently at a large vial made of Celestial Bronze, given to him by Hephaestus. Piper was sitting under a tree, trying to avoid the hot sun.

As for Hazel, she was busy trying to suppress a knot of fear that had risen in her stomach. She had been tasked, by Jupiter himself, no less, to lead her friends into the Underworld. She had not been back in the Underworld since Nico had took her back, and she did not look forward to the prospect of returning. Moreover, according Chiron, the Underworld was in complete disarray due to the capture of Hazel's father Pluto. It would be extremely dangerous to travel there with dead spirits on the loose.

Nevertheless, it had to be done. The only thing in existence that could break through the impenetrable Door of the House was located there. Procuring that without dying, though, would be another challenge altogether. Supposedly Leo's vial was a solution, but still, it would be very dangerous.

"We should get going," said Piper. "From Zeus's tone, it would be good to get this done quickly."

"I'm ready," said Annabeth. "Sorry, sometimes I get carried away when I read."

"Typical Wise Girl," Percy said with a smile. "Come on, the Door of Orpheus is that way."

The 'Door' of Orpheus was a mere hole in the ground, nothing like the impressive Door of the House, but what did it matter?

"I'll go first," said Hazel. "You all follow me. Annabeth, do you have the drachmas?"

"Got them right here," Annabeth assured.

"Good, give them to me," said Hazel. "I'll need to give them to Charon if we are to cross the River Styx."

Annabeth handed the coins over to Hazel without question. Hazel accepted them, then, staving off any hesitation, descended into the Underworld.

The Underworld was dark. Obviously. The darkness felt stuffy and crowded, as they were in a very small space. It was like that for a long time, as they descended deeper. Then, suddenly, it seemed like the space opened up and became airier. There was light too, not very bright, but a dull red light that illuminated the entire vast cavern of the Underworld. For the first time in a long time, Hazel was back.

As soon as she laid eyes upon the Underworld, she knew something was wrong. For one, it was entirely empty. She had expected to see what she had seen the first time coming here. She expected to see the Field of Asphodel full of lifeless, chattering spirits, spreading out seemingly forever. She expected to see the cruel Fields of Punishment, where evildoers suffered for their awful deeds. She expected to see a gleaming white island in the distance, where the good heroes spent eternity, Elysium. All of these places existed, but there were no spirits to inhabit them. There wasn't even a line of spirits waiting to be judged. Cerberus was gone, and there was no Charon the ferryman waiting beside the boat on the River Styx.

"What happened to this place?" Percy breathed.

"Chiron did say it was in disarray," Annabeth put in. "I guess it was worse than he thought."

"That makes out job easier," said Hazel. "The boat's still there. Let's go."

Hazel marched toward the boat, and the others followed. The River Styx flowed slowly, with less vigor than usual. The boat was tied up, and there were two oars inside. Percy and Jason took these, and began rowing across the river. It was a quick ride, as the river wasn't very wide.

As they crept across the river, Hazel gazed around at the Underworld. The place sadly reminded her of her brother, Nico: lonely, forlorn, dark, and sad. She felt guilty that he was in that state. Nico had done a lot for her, he supported her and helped her through the hardest of times. Hazel felt like she never really returned the favor. _Maybe,_ she thought guiltily, _maybe if I'd have been there for him, he wouldn't have betrayed us_. She shook those thoughts away fiercely. She couldn't afford to think like that, not now. She would deal with Nico when the time came, not now.

Hazel was jolted out of her thoughts by the bump of the boat against the far bank of the river. The others began to climb out, and she joined them. They were on the empty fields of Asphodel, where the dead grass was flat from the times when the feet of dead spirits trampled on it constantly.

"Which way now?" Piper asked, brandishing her dagger.

"Well, we can get what we need in Tartarus, but I don't think we want to go there," said Hazel.

"Absolutely not!" Percy and Annabeth said at the same time.

"Didn't think so," said the daughter of Pluto. "There is another place to get it, I think. At the very edge of the Underworld."

"That'd be far," said Annabeth. "The Underworld is huge, Hazel."

"Then we'd better get there fast," said Percy. He put his fingers to his lips and issued a cab whistle that made Hazel cover her ears. Suddenly, out of the darkness, a large hellhound bounded out. It had large, droopy ears, and a mouth that issued lots of slobber.

"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary!" Percy exclaimed. "Who's a good girl? You are!"

Jason scoffed. "Nice, dude."

"Hey, do not mess with my Hellhound!" Percy replied shortly, but with a wink. "Hop aboard the Mrs. O'Leary express!"

Soon enough, the seven of them were on the hellhound's back and were bounding across the Field of Asphodel at breakneck speed. The ride was bumpy, and long, and it made Hazel nauseous. She held it in though, long enough to survive until their first stop.

That first stop occurred when, after long periods of empty field, Frank suddenly jumped in his seat and shouted. Hazel immediately saw what Frank was shouting at. It was a spirit, a dead spirit. After all of this time when all they saw was an empty field, they finally came across a spirit.

The spirit seemed very happy about something. It was jumping around and laughing; it nearly screamed itself hoarse. Hazel wasn't sure which was most surprising, that the spirit was that happy, or that it was _capable_ of being that happy.

As soon as Mrs. O'Leary reached the spirit, Percy willed her to a stop. It was then that the spirit took notice of the seven demigods.

"Free!" he shouted gleefully. "Free at last! Be joyous, my demigods, for I have finally escaped my bonds!"

"Hey, I recognize you!" said Percy. "Tantalus!"

"Yes, Percy Jackson!" Tantalus crooned. "My punishment is at an end! I shall seek vengeance on the gods for what they did to me! But now that you are here…perhaps I'll start with you first!"

The spirit lunged at Percy, who hopped off his hellhound to meet him with his sword. Before they could start their fight, however, Tantalus suddenly seized up. The spirit had gone as stiff as a board, unable to move. Then, suddenly, he began to dissolve. Slowly, the flickering spirit vanished into thin air, and was suddenly nothing.

There was momentary silence, as the group tried to digest what had just happened.

"Yep," Leo said suddenly. "They certainly have a problem down here."

"Let's go try and fix it," Hazel insisted. "Come on."

Percy climbed back onto his ride, and they sped off once again. Hazel's thinking was now in overdrive. Spirits were escaping their bonds, which was a huge problem, but then they were dissolving into nothing. That was an even bigger problem, though of a different nature. Escaped spirits were one thing, but spirits dissolving suggested that the Underworld itself was fading.

This problem was confirmed to Hazel when they reached their destination much sooner than she expected. They had been riding for two hours, Hazel had been expecting at least five. Yet they were unmistakably at their destination. The edge of the Underworld. And beyond that lay what they were looking for. The Void of Chaos.

The Void of Chaos was exactly what it sounded like. The Underworld suddenly ended, like a cliff, and the Void took over. It looked like the night sky, except moonless and starless, completely back and empty. At the same time, Hazel got the feeling of substance, like the Void was made of something rather than being the lack of anything. It was this substance that they were hoping to procure, for it was said that the stuff of the Void of Chaos could break through anything.

"Wow," Frank gasped. "That's dark."

"No kidding," Leo agreed.

Hazel felt a strange sense of agreement with those simple comments. There was something awe-inspiring about standing at the edge of existence, something that only simple words could describe.

"You're up, Leo," said Jason.

"Thanks for the reminder," Leo replied with bite. "I'm not sure what a Celestial Bronze vial can do against something that can destroy anything and everything."

"According to what I read, Celestial Bronze can hold against the Void for some time," said Annabeth.

"How much time?" Leo asked. "A few seconds does me not good."

"A few hours, probably," Annabeth replied. "As soon as you're finished, we have to rush back to the surface and use it on that Door before it completely dissolves through the vial."

"Whenever you're ready, Leo," Hazel insisted lightly.

Leo gulped. "Okay, let's hope I don't die."

Slowly, Leo crept forward toward the towering Void. Hazel could see that he was nervous, as his movements were jerky and abrupt. She crossed her fingers, hoping that no mishap would take place, hoping that Leo would emerge safe and sound.

Leo reached out, vial in hand, and stuck the tip into the Void. He held it there for a few moments while everyone watched anxiously. After several more seconds, Leo removed the vial and scurried away from the Void, back to where his friends were waiting.

"Did you fill it?" Frank asked eagerly.

Leo grinned. "I think I did, _amigo_."

A flood of relief filled Hazel, and everyone else, too. Frank gave Leo a hard pat on the back, and Jason bumped fists.

"Nice job, Leo," said Piper with a smile.

As for Hazel, she merely nodded and smiled slightly. The dark times were too heavy on her for any larger expression of happiness.

"We have to go," Annabeth reminded everyone. "Quick, before the vial dissolves!"

* * *

It was late evening, on that same Saturday, when they returned. Leo could barely stand still, feeling like there was an active grenade in his hand. Then again, he couldn't stand still on most occasions, so this wasn't saying much.

They emerged from Orpheus's Door about four and a half hours after they had descended into it. The sky was purple, the air was cool, and there was a nice breeze. A perfect night for storming an ancient-looking building that held six major gods captive.

"Come on," Leo urged. "Before I explode."

When the seven got to where the Met usually stood, an impressive sight met their eyes. Zeus had called upon the armies of Olympus, and the armies of Olympus came. Rank upon rank of Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones stood in neat order. A little beyond that stood the Greek demigods, many of whom were Leo's friends. The Roman Twelfth Legion stood next to them, its five cohorts neat and well-organized. The Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons were also present. The leader of the Hunters, Thalia Grace, gave a small wave to Leo and his friends, while the Queen of the Amazons barely regarded them, instead looking stern and a bit sad. Beyond that, to Leo's surprise, Chiron had even gathered a faction of Party Ponies, and stood armored at their head.

In front of all of this, the eight remaining gods stood armored and ready for war. Zeus and Poseidon stood at the head of the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones, Zeus with his Master Bolt, and Poseidon with his famed Trident. Artemis stood at the head of her Hunters, brandishing a long, silver bow. Hera stood at her husband's side, holding a lethal-looking spear. Ares stood near the Amazons, his honorary daughters, holding two weapons, a sword and a spear. Hermes and Dionysus were present as well, but where was…

"Son," said a deep, rumbling voice. Sure enough, Hephaestus, Leo's dad was standing right beside him. Leo had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed that his friends had moved off elsewhere, and that he had been standing alone in front of everyone.

"Hi, dad," Leo muttered.

"That vial is no use just sitting in your hand," Hephaestus said gently.

Leo nodded. He presented the vial to Hephaestus with care.

"Oh, no," said the god of metalworking. "You collected it, it is your honor."

"Oh, thanks dad," said Leo kindly. He then looked toward Zeus, who gave him a look that said: _Well, get on with it!_

Leo proceeded to do just that

"Wait!" exclaimed a new voice, one that was very familiar. Leo almost couldn't believe it when a woman with dark, braided hair and almond eyes stepped out and ran toward him.

"Calypso!" Leo exclaimed. Calypso ran and gave Leo a giant hug. "I—I thought you'd been captured."

"I hid on Ogygia," Calypso explained. "As soon as I heard the gods were massing for war I came to New York."

Zeus pointedly cleared his throat.

"Right, sorry," Leo said. He had now fully embarrassed himself in front of the entire army, but he didn't care. He was reunited with Calypso at last.

"You ready," he asked her.

"Of course."

Leo nodded, and turned. The Front Door stood as formidable as before, but it wouldn't last. Leo walked forward, up until he was almost nose-to-nose with the Door. He then opened the vial, and touched it to the Door.

It immediately dissolved. The wood of the Door completely gave way to the substance of the Void of Chaos, revealing a black space beyond.

"Armies of Olympus, forward!" Zeus commanded. Leo, sure that the bottle was empty, closed it hastily and fell back to where his father was standing. Frank had gone to the Romans, commanding them as praetor. Hazel, as centurion, was with her cohort. Jason was with them as well, helping them along. Percy and Annabeth were at the head of the Greeks, both dressed for battle. Piper was among the Greeks, too, a determined look on her face.

"To war!" Zeus shouted as he went through opening in the House. Ares echoed the shout, and soon the entire army was shouting as they moved forward to defeat their enemies.

But on the archway that defined the space where the Door once stood, unnoticed by all, was a small patch of Nothing. Spreading slowly.

INDEX OF CHARACTERS:

CHAMPIONS OF THE HOUSE:

Arthur Penhaligon, the Rightful Heir

Suzy Turquois Blue, assistant to the New Architect

Leaf, a loyal friend of the Rightful Heir

Fred Initial-Numbers Gold, general in the Army of the Architect

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, praetor of the Twelfth Legion

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi

HEROES OF OLYMPUS:

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, head counselor of the Poseidon cabin

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, head counselor of the Athena cabin

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, head counselor of the Zeus cabin

Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin

Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin

Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, centurion of the Fifth Cohort

Frank Zhang, son of Mars, praetor of the Twelfth Legion

SUPERIOR DENIZENS OF THE HOUSE:

The New Architect, also known as Art; recreated the Universe

Lord Sunday, Master of the Lower House

Superior Saturday, Superior Sorceress of the Upper House

Lady Friday, Mistress of the Middle House

Sir Thursday, Overlord of the Great Maze

Drowned Wednesday, Duchess of the Border Sea

Grim Tuesday, Lord of the Far Reaches

Mister Monday, Master of the Lower House

Sunday's Dusk, also known as the Reaper

Sunday's Noon, also known as the Grower

Sunday's Dawn, also known as the Sower

Saturday's Dusk, in charge of the Sorcerous Supernumeraries

Saturday's Noon, in charge of the Internal Auditors

Saturday's Dawn, also known as Pravuil, in charge of the Artful Loungers

Friday's Dusk, in charge of the Winged Servants of the Night

Friday's Noon, in charge of the High Guild of Binding and Restoration

Friday's Dawn, in charge of the Gilded Youths

Thursday's Dusk, also known as Marshal Dusk

Thursday's Noon, also known as Marshal Noon

Thursday's Dawn, also known as Marshal Dawn

Wednesday's Dusk, also known as Doctor Scamandros, in charge of the Sorcerer-Navigators

Wednesday's Noon, also known as Sunscorch, in charge of Wednesday's commissioned fleet

Wednesday's Dawn, in charge of the Nissers

Tuesday's Dusk, formerly of the Grotesques

Tuesday's Noon, formerly of the Grotesques

Tuesday's Dawn, formerly of the Grotesques

Monday's Dusk, formerly Noon, in charge of the Midnight Visitors

Monday's Noon, formerly Dusk, in charge of the Commissionaires and their Sergeants

Monday's Dawn, in charge of the Corps of Inspectors

OTHER DENIZENS:

The Architect, Creator of the Universe, now deceased

The Old One, an offshoot being of the Architect, now deceased

The Mariner, one of the three sons of the Architect, now deceased

The Piper, one of the three sons of the Architect, now deceased

The Lieutenant-Keeper of the Door, deceased, and replaced by a new Lieutenant-Keeper

Japeth, a thesaurus, and now scribe for the Court of Days

Giac, an Artful Lounger, formerly a Sorcerous Supernumerary

MAJOR GODS:

Zeus (Jupiter), god of the skies and storms, king of the gods

Hera (Juno), goddess of marriage and family, queen of the gods

Poseidon (Neptune), god of the sea

Demeter (Ceres), goddess of agriculture

Ares (Mars), god of war

Athena (Minerva), goddess of wisdom, military strategy, and crafts

Apollo (Apollo), god of the sun, archery, music, poetry, medicine, plague, and more

Artemis (Diana), goddess of the hunt

Hephaestus (Vulcan), god of forgery

Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love and beauty

Hermes (Mercury), god of messengers, athletics, and theft

Dionysus (Bacchus), god of wine

Hades (Pluto), god of the Underworld and the dead

Hestia (Vesta), goddess of the hearth, home, and family

MINOR GODS:

Hecate (Trivia), goddess of magic

Iris (Arcus), goddess of rainbows

Hypnos (Somnus), god of sleep

Nemesis (Invidia), goddess of revenge

Nike (Victoria), goddess of victory

Hebe (Juventas), goddess of youth

Tyche (Fortuna), goddess of good fortune

Persephone (Proserpina), goddess of flowers

Pan (Faunus), god of the wild

Thanatos (Letus), god of death

Bellona, Roman goddess of war and diplomacy (some equate her with the Greek goddess Enyo, while others insist that she is purely Roman)

Janus, Roman god of doorways, beginnings and endings, and choices

PRIMORDIAL GODS:

Gaea (Terra), goddess of the earth

Ouranos (Uranus), god of the sky

Nyx (Nox), goddess of the night

Erebus, god of darkness

Tartarus, god of the pit

Note: While these gods and goddesses were personified, the names also refer to regions.


	18. The Battle Begins

CHAPTER 18: The Battle Begins

Art was sitting in his office, with his head resting on his hand, as he waited for Saturday to return from her expedition to Olympus. When Art designed his office, he could have done a number of splendid things. There were some offices in the House that looked like pleasant mountain retreats, after all. Art, however, did not need such fancy accessories to make him happy, so he settled on a simple office design. It was a moderately large room, with a nice ebony desk, several cushy chairs, and a fireplace.

The other Days were gathered as well, each of them sitting casually upon one of the comfortable lounge chairs in the office. Art glanced at each of them, and found that he was proud of them. All of their bad traits that the Will had inflicted on them were nearly completely gone. Monday sat in his chair wide-awake and attentive, Tuesday was not greedily crafting a personal treasure, Wednesday wasn't nibbling on a single thing, Thursday's face was completely placid, Friday's withdrawal symptoms were all but gone, and Sunday's nose wasn't haughtily in the air. And, even though she wasn't here, Art had begun to notice that Saturday was learning to be content with her own titles and demesne.

Speaking of Saturday, Art heard the door to his office open and close, and Saturday strode elegantly into the office, picking out an empty chair and sitting in it.

"That was fast," Art commented.

"There wasn't much to say," Saturday replied airily. "It was a rather quick meeting."

"I'd like to hope it was quick because they immediately acquiesced to my demands and have been brought to the House already," said Art. "Somehow, though, I don't think that was the case."

"Accept it?" Saturday scoffed. "They didn't even let me deliver your message, until I made them."

"Oh, boy," Monday said with a chuckle. "What did you do them?"

Art's eyes narrowed. "You didn't use House sorcery on them, did you?"

"Well…" she trailed off.

"Saturday!" Art objected, putting his face in his hands.

"They threatened to toss me off the top of that grotesque mountain of theirs," Saturday explained. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Ah, my dear Art," said Sunday with a friendly smile. "You are making an excellent lord of the Universe thus far, but an important lesson for the future: never send a messenger with teeth, if you do not want the receivers to get bitten."

 _And if I had sent a messenger without teeth,_ I _would've got bitten_ , Art thought grimly. "Thank you, Sunday," he said with forced politeness. "Saturday, you did what you had to do. I just hope the gods don't do anything drastic in retaliation—"

Art suddenly cut himself short as his entire office began to shake violently. The empty chairs in his office began to slide across the room, and the Days that occupied the filled chairs gripped the armrests to avoid falling. Art did the same with his desk, trying not to lose his balance in the shaking room. The rumbling lasted for about fifteen seconds before dying down.

It's a good thing Denizens don't eat, because if they did, Art's lunch would have been all over the floor.

It was Wednesday that decided to ask the obvious question. "What was that?" she asked nervously.

"Something drastic, no doubt," said Tuesday.

"Perhaps in retaliation," Friday added.

"Enough," Art ordered calmly. "I will go investigate in a moment."

"New Architect!" said a new voice. Art turned to a corner of the office, and found the Lieutenant-Keeper of the Front Door standing there. He was standing at attention, but Art noticed he looked quite disheveled.

"Lieutenant-Keeper!" Art replied. He had forgotten that there was an entrance to the Front Door in his office. "What is happening."

"An army," the Lieutenant-Keeper replied urgently. "A massive army has broken their way through the Front Door! An army composed of humans and strange monsters, some with one eye, some with a hundred hands, and some with a man's head and a horse's torso!"

Art slammed his fist on his desk. "How did they get through? The Front Door is supposed to be impenetrable!"

"Nothing, my lord Art," he replied. "It seems that they used Nothing to dissolve the Door, and now they are moving into the House! They've stumbled upon entrances to several demesnes. I know not which ones, save that their ranks are pouring onto Doorstop Hill!"

"Seal all other entrances of the Front Door to the House!" Art ordered. "Especially the ones to the Incomparable Gardens! I cannot have these armies pouring out into my office."

"Already done, my lord Art," said the Lieutenant-Keeper. "It seems that only three entrances have been found by the invaders. I will go delay them however I can."

"No," Arthur objected. "You are one, and they are many. Focus on holding the other entrances closed, and stay safe!"

The Lieutenant-Keeper bowed, and returned to the Front Door.

"I must return to the Lower House, Art," said Monday seriously.

"Yes," Art agreed. "Mobilize the forces of the Lower House, if that has not been done already. I want every Commissionaire and Midnight Visitor assembled to oppose these invaders. And tell your Dawn to mobilize her Inspectors to help evacuate the civilian Denizens to the Middle House!"

"Consider it done," said Monday, turning to leave.

"Wait, Monday," said Art. Monday turned back, a puzzled look on his face.

Art sighed. "I resurrected you, and you have been loyal ever since. Can I continue to trust you?"

"Of course, Art," Monday replied without hesitation.

Art unclipped the First Key from his belt and tossed it to the former Trustee. "Don't make me regret it."

Monday bowed deeply and hurried out.

"The rest of you, take inventory of your demesnes!" Art continued, turning to the other Days. "I want to know where these invaders are, and where they aren't. Saturday, I want all elevators to be shut down! No elevator is to move save by my express permission!"

"Sir Thursday!" a frantic voice yelled as Saturday was leaving to carry out Art's orders.

"Marshal Dawn!" Thursday exclaimed, holding a small figurine in his hand.

"Sir, an attacking army of strange creatures has come pouring out of the Front Door entrance in the Star Fort!" Dawn shouted. "The Citadel is overrun!"

Sir Thursday let out a low growl. "Which of the other fortresses is the largest?"

"White Keep, sir," said Dawn. "Only a single unit of the Legion is currently stationed there, sir."

"Mobilize the rest of the Army," Sir Thursday ordered, rather calmly. "I want all squadrons to be gathered at White Keep by sunset tonight."

"Yes, sir!"

"And Dawn," Sir Thursday added quietly. "Initiate Code Black."

Dawn nodded, and the figurine was still.

"Thursday," Art said quietly. "We cannot lose the Maze." He handed the commander of the Army the Fourth Key.

"We won't," said Thursday quietly, before rushing out of the room himself.

At that moment Saturday returned. "The elevators have been shut down," she said. "I also checked upon the Upper House; there are no invaders present."

"Good," said Art. "And may I ask why the rest of you haven't done the same?"

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday realized that Art was talking to them, and hurried out of the office.

"If the invaders were in the Incomparable Gardens, we'd know at this point," Sunday stated in explanation for his lack of action. Art nodded.

"Oi! Art!" a voice exclaimed. Suzy Turquois Blue was running into the room, with Arthur at her side.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked. "There was this big rumbling not too long ago."

"Invaders in the House," Art explained hurriedly. "I really don't have time for chit chat, I have a battle to manage. Go gather the rest of your little task force and bring them in here, I have to imagine the invaders will be after you the hardest. Saturday and Sunday, help them."

Arthur and Suzy had to quickly get over their shock to follow Art's instructions, Saturday and Sunday at their side. In just a few short moments Art had the office to himself. He sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands, letting out a frustrated sigh while he was at it.

Invaders in the House. Armies pouring onto Doorstop Hill. Thursday's Citadel overrun. A lot had just happened in the mast few moments, but the worst news of all was the use of Nothing against the Front Door. Such reckless use of Nothing was almost unimaginable; the House was lucky to still be standing.

Snapping out of his own thoughts, Art went through his desk and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he quickly began to unravel. When he was finished, a large, detailed map of the House lay on his desk. It consisted of seven squares, each square being a demesne of the House. The Incomparable Gardens were on top, of course, followed by the Upper House, the Middle House, the Lower House, and the Far Reaches on the bottom. To the left of the Middle House was the Great Maze, and to the right was the Border Sea.

The map was a gift, a sorcerous gift crafted collaboratively by Superior Saturday and Wednesday's Dusk. It came with a pointing rod, which also had sorcerous capabilities. Using the rod, Art tapped lightly on the Map where Doorstop Hill was, and a red dot appeared, indicating that the enemy was there. Another tap on the map, and another red dot appeared, this time by the Citadel. _But where is the third location?_

"Art," said Arthur, returning to the office. His six friends were with him, all with confused looks on their faces.

"I'm glad you all are safe," said Art. He tried to make it sound polite, but his weariness and frustration crept into his voice.

"What's going on?" Reyna asked bluntly. "Arthur says the House is under attack."

"Arthur is correct, Miss Ramirez-Arellano," Art replied. "The gods have managed to find a way into the House, and they've brought their armies with them."

Arthur looked shocked. "How?"

"They managed to get their hands on Nothing," said Art, his voice rising in anger. "Nothing! Those fools used Nothing! Forget the House, the entire Universe might could have gotten destroyed!"

"They couldn't have known," said Reyna immediately, a glint in her eyes. "Art, believe me, they couldn't have known that the Nothing could have destroyed the Universe!"

"That's hardly the point," Art countered. "This just proved that I was right all along! The gods are so selfish and so indignantly greedy that they are willing to play with a substance they no naught about just to get revenge! Where do you think they got it from, huh? They sent someone, probably a poor demigod, to collect the Nothing from the brink of the Void of Nothing itself, the one that they call Chaos. Such recklessness I have never seen!"

"There's no use getting angry at them about it," said Arthur firmly. "Reyna did nothing wrong."

"I'm not angry at her," said Art in a calmer tone. "I apologize if it came off that way, surely you can understand how frustrating this is."

"Did the House get damaged in any way?" Suzy asked.

"I don't believe so," Art replied, "but we still have an army to deal with. The Lieutenant-Keeper has told me that the invaders found three points of entry before he sealed the Door."

"Where?" Arthur asked. "I hope not here!"

"No, not the Incomparable Gardens, nor the Upper House," Art confirmed. "The reports say that there are enemies by Doorstop Hill, and in the Great Maze."

"The Great Maze!" Fred exclaimed. "I—I have to get down there!"

"You will stay right here!" Art said firmly. "You seven will be on their hit list for sure, and I will not have you suffer at their hands because of actions you've done on my request. I won't have that on me."

"The Army of the Architect needs their generals, all of them," Fred argued. "And if the Army falls, if the Great Maze falls, then you're beat, Art."

Art sighed. "The Army can survive if one if its generals is missing," he said finally. "For now, please stay here."

Fred gave Art such a look of anger, then went to sit down in one of the chairs in a huff. Suzy went over to go comfort him.

"How…How bad is it?" Leaf asked

"I don't know," Art admitted grimly. "From the reports I heard, the enemy is great, but I think we will beat them. In fact, I know it."

"You do?" asked Rachel.

Art nodded. "The forces of the House are strong and experience," he explained. "The Army of the Architect has never lost a battle, much less a war. The Commissionaires and Midnight Visitors are also very tough, and that's just two demesnes. We have the Winged Servants of the Night, the Gilded Youths, the Nissers, and all of Saturday's sorcerers. As for the gods, they may have a large host, but ours is about the same, if not larger. And they have no good battle leader. We deprived them of that when we arrested Athena."

"They're gonna get themselves killed," said Nico quietly. "Can't we do anything?"

"I told you," Art replied pointedly. "You cannot leave this room."

"We can't just stay here and let our friends get themselves killed," Rachel pleaded. "You said it yourself, the House will likely win, and I won't stand it if my friends die, even if they hate me for what I did!"

"It's too dangerous," said Art. "Besides, there's still a third contingent of their forces that are at an unknown location. Until we know where they are I've shut down all the elevators in the House, except on my express order."

"Then give us your express order!" Rachel begged.

"If you think I'm just gonna stand here while my city gets destroyed, you've got another thing coming!" said Suzy boldly.

"I must get back to command my troops!" Fred insisted.

"Quiet!" Art snapped. "Just, please, be quiet!" He couldn't see, but his face felt like it was red from anger. He was about to continue his angry lecture, but he was interrupted as someone burst through the door.

"They're in the Border Sea!" cried Drowned Wednesday as she stumbled into the office. Art's eyes widened as he beheld her. Her dress was slightly torn, and she had a scratch on her cheek.

"Wednesday, what happened?"

"I—I went down there, to the Border Sea," Wednesday gulped, taking a seat. "According to Dawn, the armies came out of nowhere, so unexpectedly. An army of the gods, led by a powerful sea god, wielding a trident, and a god of fire. They're taking my sea by storm! Noon's fleet was half destroyed by the time I got there, and Dawn has been pushed back. The sea god and his son have wrought storms, and Port Wednesday burns!"

Art banged his fists on the table, scattering some loose items. "If they've reached Port Wednesday, they'll have access to its Transfer Plates soon." He reached down and unclipped a certain trident by his belt. "Take the Third Key, Wednesday. Turn the tide."

"Percy's in the Border Sea," said Nico desperately. "I have to go to him! I can try and stop him!"

"If you three want to go and try and convince your friends to stop fighting, you are free to do so," Art said in exasperation. "I've had enough of this bloodshed. The rest of you are free to go as well, to help however you wish."

"Thank you!" Rachel exclaimed. She hurried to the door, as did everyone else, including Wednesday.

 _I hope they stay alive_ , Art hoped in his heart of hearts. With resignation, he tapped his map again, and a red dot appeared by Port Wednesday.


	19. Port Wednesday

CHAPTER 19: Port Wednesday

The elevator ride to Port Wednesday was long and excruciating for Nico. Beside him, Wednesday gripped the Third Key with a resoluteness that Nico had never seen in her before. To his other side, Leaf stood nervously. She had chosen to accompany Nico to the Border Sea because of something about a Flying Mantis, or something like that. As for Nico, al he could think about was Percy, misguidedly wreaking havoc on the Border Sea and Port Wednesday.

"Are we almost there?" he asked anxiously. He had so much he wanted to tell Percy. How much he had truly loved him, and cared for him. But most importantly, to please stop the damage and destruction.

"Soon," said Wednesday.

"Is it bad?" Leaf asked.

"It's certainly not good," said Wednesday with a sigh. "Noon, or Sunscorch, as you know him, is not faring well. Dusk commands the Sorcerer-Navigators, and they are holding their own. Dawn was surrounded the last I saw her."

"What of the _Flying Mantis_?" Leaf asked concernedly. "Has it been destroyed?"

"I don't know," said Wednesday. "I should've fought better, I should've defended my demesne better!"

"That's no way to think," said Nico gently. "We'll get this sorted out. Hopefully peacefully."

With that, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. As soon as Nico and the others stepped out, the lights went blank, and the elevator shut down.

Nico hardly noticed that, however, instead looking at the scene in front of him. They were on a balcony, on a small city that was carved into a mountain, which Nico figured was Port Wednesday. In front of him, down below and out at sea, was a large battle scene.

The first thing Nico noticed were the flames. They were practically everywhere, on many of the ships, and in many of the buildings below him. On the ships, there were many scuffles taking place, between crewmen and teenagers that Nico recognized as Camp Half-Blood campers. On the beaches of Port Wednesday, another battle was taking place, between green-scaled figures and a bunch of Cyclopes. In the center of it all, a bearded man with a trident fought a blonde lady with a sword. Next to the bearded man, a teenage boy with black hair was sparring with a green Nisser.

"Percy," Nico breathed. "That's who I need to get to!"

"Then I'll get you there," Leaf promised. "What about you Wednesday? Wednesday?"

Nico looked around to find that Wednesday was not with them.

"Down there!" said Leaf. Somehow, Wednesday had managed to get to the beach, where she had taken up the fight against Poseidon, trident against trident. Suddenly, the Third Key glowed, and a massive wave of water rose up to douse some of the burning ships. Poseidon replied by sending a wave of water directly at Wednesday, knocking her off her feet.

"We've got to hurry!" said Nico. He took off to his right, beginning his descent through the maze of streets that made up Port Wednesday, hoping to arrive in time to stop the fighting.

After several minutes of wandering, he arrived on the edge of the beach, Leaf at his side. During that time, the forces of the gods had made some headway. Poseidon and Wednesday were still deadlocked, but the Cyclopes had moved forward against the Nissers, and were threatening to spill into the streets. Dawn was holding her own, but the Border Sea was undermanned, as it typically was.

And then, he spotted him. Percy was fiercely fighting, Riptide in hand. Around him lay many injured and dead Nissers, their blue blood staining the sand. It made Nico's heart ache, to see such unnecessary killing. Percy wasn't a killer, Nico knew. He didn't want to be doing this. Mustering up his courage, Nico stepped forward.

"Percy!"

Percy stopped dead in his tracks, and looked right at him, not saying a word. He didn't seem shocked to see him, in fact, his face was completely neutral. Except for his eyes, which shone with unmistakable disappointment. Nico's voice seized up. After all of this time to thing, and he couldn't think of what to say. Those eyes froze him, the sea-green eyes that he had spent years adoring, those eyes that now shone with sadness, disappointment, and, yes, a bit of rage.

"Percy," he finally got out. "Percy, please. Stop all of this fighting. Look at what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing," was the reply. "I'm protecting the gods, like I'm supposed to!"

That cut Nico deeply, but he pressed on. "Is this what you call protecting the gods?" he spread his hands. "This is nothing but death and wreckage."

"Against the people who would kidnap the gods, people like you!" Percy spat. Nico could hear the venom in his voice. "Why did you do it, Nico? Why? Were we not nice enough to you? You know that we tried to make you feel comfortable and at home! Were we not good enough?"

Nico felt tears come to his eyes. "It—it was never you, Percy," he said softly. He began to sniffle. "You just don't understand the _pain_ that this world had brought upon me. You don't understand. If you did, you would want to bring the gods to justice, too."

For a second, it almost looked like Percy had a look of pity on his face, but then it disappeared instantly. "I'm sorry, Nico," he said quietly. Then he hefted his sword and charged.

* * *

Leaf scrambled about the beach, desperately looking for anyone from her _Flying Mantis_ crew. As soon as she heard that the Border Sea was under attack, her thoughts immediately turned to them. She looked out to see, hoping to catch sight of the familiar ship, but she couldn't spot it. Several ships were burning again, and Leaf could see the perpetrator: a small, ugly guy with a long beard who could apparently wield fire.

"Come on, come on," Leaf muttered to herself, scanning the sea and the ships. There was still a lot of fighting and confusion going on aboard the vessels. Crewmen had taken up swords and shields to fight against what looked like teenagers and Cyclopes. The crew of Wednesday's commissioned ships were hard and battle-seasoned, but the teenagers were full of spirit and energy. Leaf realized that they must have been demigods, fighting to rescue their godly parents that have been captured.

 _It's a good thing Denizens are hard to kill,_ Leaf thought. Still, the Denizens were holding a good front, as only one contingent of Cyclopes, lead by Poseidon and that kid Leaf had seen in Manhattan, had made it to the beach.

Leaf squinted her eyes, trying to see better. More ships were now aflame, and Drowned Wednesday was too focused on her battle with Poseidon to send another wave to douse the flames. Leaf thought he could make out individual figures fighting. There was a particularly tall figure in an admiral's uniform who was leading a bunch of men in a fight on the tallest ship. Leaf recognized him as Sunscorch, Wednesday's Noon. A few ships away, Leaf could also make out the bright flashes of sorcery, and knew that Dr. Scamandros, Wednesday's Dusk, must have been there with other Sorcerer-Navigators that belonged to the Border Sea. Wednesday's Dawn, of course, was fighting on the beaches.

But where was the _Flying Mantis?_

Suddenly, Leaf noticed a bobbing figure in the water, swimming toward the shore. Leaf squinted her eyes again, and recognized the man's captain's hat.

"Captain Swell!" she shouted.

Sure enough, the figure bobbing in the water was Captain Heraclius Swell, captain of the _Flying Mantis_. He must've heard Leaf's call, for he changed direction and swam toward the spot where Leaf was standing. She was on a large rock, between the beach where the battle was happening and the empty docks of Port Wednesday.

After a few minutes of swimming, the captain dragged himself to the shore, his uniform dripping and sodden. "You used to be one of my ship's boys, didn't you," Captain Swell said in a gruff manner.

"Yes, sir," Leaf replied, rushing to him. "I'm the one you picked up by accident, remember?"

"Ah, how could I forget," said Swell with a small smile. "You were the worst ship's boy I ever laid eyes on."

Leaf laughed, a clear laugh in the middle of battle. _I'm going insane_ , she thought.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Leaf asked finally, hoping for some good news.

"Scattered," said Swell, the grim look returning to his face. He sat down on a rock, trying to wring out the rest of his uniform. "That fire demon, the one with the beard, he and his runty son started blazing up Noon's entire fleet. The _Mantis_ was one of the first to go up in flames. I gave the order to abandon ship."

"And," Leaf pressed, "did everyone make it, sir?"

The captain took a deep breath, not looking her in they eye. "That is…highly unlikely. It was a large fire."

Leaf's breath caught, and she found herself shaking with sadness, sadness and anger. Many of the people on that ship were her friends, and now some of them were likely dead. Denizens were hard to kill, but fire was one of he few things that did the trick.

"Army of the gods! To the shore!" someone shouted. Leaf turned to see that it had been Poseidon, the god of the sea. Wednesday had done a decent job fighting him, forcing him back nearly to the sea shore, but Poseidon had used his power for something else, too, at the same time,

Leaf turned her head seaward, and saw, to her shock, that the teenage demigods and Cyclopes were disembarking from the ships. And were running on water toward the shore.

"How?" Leaf asked breathlessly.

"They have a bloody sea god!" Swell exclaimed. He urgently turned toward the sea himself, and saw a mass of demigods charging toward the shore. Toward them.

"Go hide!" Captain Swell yelled. "I'll hold them off!"

"Captain!" Lead cried back, but Swell was not about to hear an argument. He took Leaf over his shoulder and deposited her behind a large rock. Then he stepped back out, drew his sword, and waited for the onrush.

Leaf peaked out from behind her hiding place, and watched in horror as Captain Heraclius Swell stood alone against a charge of fifteen demigods from the sea. He met the first demigod sword for sword, exchanging several parries with the young woman. Swell was handy with a sword, but was nevertheless a seaman, not a swordsman.

A second demigod joined the duel, and Swell was beginning to look outmatched. He began to give up ground, barely able to deflect the demigod's thrusts. His breathing began to grow more labored, Leaf saw, and his movements slow. He was surviving, sure, but he was losing.

When the third demigod joined in, Leaf had to shut her eyes. Soon after that, leaf heard a cry of pain, unmistakably from Swell. That was followed by a very…squishy sound, like a sponge being squeezed…or…

Leaf reluctantly opened her eyes, and saw Swell on his knees, raggedly breathing. In front of him was a giant pool of blue blood. The three demigods that were fighting him were gathered around him, regarding him as if he were some subhuman monster.

"Should we finish him off?" one of them asked.

"Nah, he's injured enough as it is," said the girl that had fought with him first, a big, stocky, strong girl. "Let's get to the city, come on!" She led the other two away, while other demigods were streaming past some ways away.

Leaf's face was white-hot with anger. Controlling her rage, letting it fuel her instead of hinder her. She stepped out from behind the rock, and stood beside her captain, who was now lying on the floor, barely moving. She took his fallen sword, hefting it easily despite its size, and turned toward the sea, where more demigods were running toward her.

Yelling a loud battle cry, Leaf met their charge with a charge of her own, to avenge her captain.

* * *

Over the small amount of time he had spent at Camp Half-Blood, Nico had received a good amount of sword training. He was pretty handy with his Stygian Ice sword, and had used it well on many occasions. He could fight well against monsters and other enemies, and had done so on numerous occasions. Never, though, had he fought someone as skilled as the famed Percy Jackson.

As soon as Percy charged, Nico braced himself for impact, holding his sword in front of him in a protective manner. He hoped to absorb the force of the impact in this manner, but Percy was coming on too strong. He slammed into him, and Nico flew backward, barely keeping his feet on the beach.

Percy thrust his sword forward, which Nico parried away. Percy was relentless, though, Nico could see the anger and pain in his green eyes. Nico twisted away as Percy slashed again at Nico's torso, just dodging the blow. Percy was quick on the follow, and Nico just turned the tip of his sword away.

"Percy, listen to me!" Nico shouted. Percy's reply was to send another blow toward his gut. Calling upon the sea, a blast of water was sent by Percy straight at Nico, and the son of Hades was knocked to the ground. He rolled aside as Percy's sword slammed down right where he had just been lying.

"Army of the gods! To the shore!" came a loud shout.

Percy turned his head for a moment, and Nico look where he was looking. The demigods and Cyclopes, previously aboard Noon's ships, were now running on water toward the shore. Nico could see the crewmen of the ship staring in shock, then trying to follow them. They, however, were not able to run on water, and sank below the waves.

"Looks like my dad's helping my fellow campers out," said Percy. "Hephaestus has most of the ships on fire. My buddies will soon be here, and we'll find the gods you captured soon enough."

"Is this what you call heroic?" Nico asked angrily. He couldn't help it, not after looking at the burning ships, the Nissers lying on the ground, Denizens foundering in the sea. "You're hurting innocent people!"

"You started this!" Percy barked. "You started this the moment you decided to betray your friends!"

"The gods aren't my friends!" Nico yelled. "They made me miserable! They killed my mother, and ruined the lives of countless innocents! And now you're doing the same thing!"

Nico tried to control his emotions, but that was one thing he was never very good at doing. Still feeling thee heat of anger, he charged directly at Percy.

Nico's anger fueled him, and he immediately went on the offensive. Percy found himself being driven back, struggling to deflect Nico's blows. The fire and anger that had lit the son of Poseidon's eyes was now replied by cold shock. Nico feinted in one direction, then slashed in the other, nicking Percy in the ribs.

That seemed to reignite the son of Poseidon, who dug his feet into the sand and held his ground. The two were at a stalemate, both able to deflect the other's attacks, but neither able to land a blow. Nico's senses were on overdrive, completely focused on the battle as he tried to find a way past Percy's guard. Percy was an excellent swordsman, but Nico found that he was holding his own.

That is, until the other demigods hit the beach. A large battle cry went up in the air as the remaining Nissers were overwhelmed. Wednesday was unable to stop them, as she was occupied with Poseidon. Wednesday's Dawn was doing the best she could, but she was completely surrounded. Many of the demigods found cracks in the defense, and were able to get into the city.

In an instant, Annabeth Chase was at Percy's side, and Nico was outnumbered. Annabeth was wielding her dagger, and she wielded it well. Nico was unable to defend himself against such an expert swordsman and his knife-wielding girlfriend. Still, he tried his hardest. He wasn't going to give in so easily, he wasn't going to allow the innocent residents of Port Wednesday to be so easily brutalized.

"I won't let you," Nico said, but it came out very softly. He beginning to grow tired, as fighting on two fronts had sapped him of much of his energy. His movements were growing ever so slower, and it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake. That mistake came when he overcommitted to a parry of Percy's sword thrust. It gave Annabeth just the slightest opening, but that was all she needed.

Nico stumbled to the ground as Annabeth's dagger entered his calf. He cried out as the pain shot through him like hot fire, and then again as Annabeth removed the blade. He was on his knees, and he felt his own blood running down his leg and onto the sand. His breath was ragged, and he felt cold, oh so cold.

Nico managed to look up, and saw Percy and Annabeth staring down at him. Annabeth's grey eyes were as cold as ever, emotionless and, yes, disappointed. Percy's were different, though. Percy's were sad, as if something were troubling him. It wasn't his injury, Nico realized, but his words. For the first time, Percy seemed to notice the magnitude of the destruction around him.

"Come on, Percy, we have gods to find," Annabeth said grimly. She went on as if this whole thing was just business, destruction for the greater good. "Percy, let's go."

Percy shook his head, nodded to Annabeth, and ran off with her into the city, joining the ranks of their demigod friends.

Suddenly there was a bright light on the sea, and Nico saw a large blast of fire shoot up and hit the city, setting many buildings aflame. Pieces of ash and rubble were falling everywhere. Through his dimming vision, he could see Wednesday desperately using the Third Key to quell the flames, while at the same time trying to fight off Poseidon's onslaught. Fire seemed to dance on the sea, and many Denizens bobbed this way and that, trying to get to the shore. Dawn was surrounded, the Nissers beset, and Noon and Dusk were somewhere amidst a burning fleet.

 _It's over,_ Nico thought, _I've failed_.

He closed his eyes, and unconsciousness came to greet him.


	20. Rhetorical Questions

CHAPTER 20: Rhetorical Questions

White Keep was in a flurry of activity when Fred arrived. Generals, sergeants, lieutenants, and other officers were bustling this way and that, organizing their troops and moving them to their proper stations. White Keep would be serving as the command center of the Army of the Architect until the Citadel was released from enemy hands.

From what Fred understood, the entire Army wouldn't be at White Keep for long. Sir Thursday merely wanted the Army to gather itself in one place for a small period of time in order to reorganize, as the sudden appearance of the enemy at the Citadel had thrown the Army into confusion.

"General Gold!" came a call from Fred's left. Fred turned that way to find a sergeant from the Regiment saluting him.

"At ease, Sergeant Gode!" Fred ordered. He was silent as the sergeant shifted his position.

"Sir Thursday has requested your presence in the command room, sir," Gode declared.

"Did he say it was urgent?"

"He wishes you to come immediately, sir," replied Gode, still standing straight as an arrow.

"Very well," said Fred. "Come, Rachel,"

Rachel Dare, who had come into the Great Maze with Fred, was standing very nervously beside him. He could understand that, given that she was only a normal girl from Earth in the midst of the most otherworldly army in the Universe. Still, Sir Thursday's orders were clear, and he could not afford for her to be reluctant.

"It's alright, Rachel," said Fred, a tad impatient. "If you want any chance of talking your friends out of fighting then we need to get you to where they are. To do that, we need to get to Sir Thursday."

"Fine," Rachel gulped. Reluctantly, she moved to Fred's side and followed his lead.

It was a good thing that Fred was familiar with White Keep, or he would have gotten lost very easily in it's winding and twisting corridors. As a general, though, he and his unit within the Regiment were often stationed at White Keep, so Fred was able to lead Rachel through the Keep without getting lost, right to the command room where Sir Thursday was situated.

Thursday, as Fred expected, was poring over a map of the Great Maze. He was being attended by his Dawn, Noon, and Dusk, who were pointing at the map and making suggestions. Marshal Dawn was wearing her Borderer's uniform, and her straight, blonde hair was tied back neatly. Noon was drumming his fingers on the desk beside Sir Thursday, while Dusk had a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

As soon as Fred walked into the room, he stood immediately at attention. Sir Thursday noticed his presence, and commanded him to stand easy, which Fred did.

"Stand over here, General Gold," Thursday beckoned, motioning to him with his finger. Fred silently complied, walking until he had a good view of the map. It was dotted with red and green dots, symbolizing the different troops currently in the Maze.

"Sir," Fred began, "I currently have Rachel Elizabeth Dare, my companion in the expeditions against the gods, in my company. The New Architect has given her leave to try and negotiate with the enemy."

"Very well," said Thursday with a sour face. "Had that order not come directly from the New Architect himself, I would not so easily allow a civilian on the front lines. But enough of this, we have more important things to discuss. If you will fill our general in, Noon."

"Yes sir!" Noon replied. He spread his hands across the map. "As you can see, we are working out a strategy to separate the enemy army into pieces, thus making them easier to defeat. Usually it is an easy thing to accomplish, but these gods are more intelligent than mindless Nithlings. Moreover, never before has an enemy captured one of the stations on a fixed point in the Maze, which makes it more difficult to use tectonic strategy against them."

"Is there any good news, Marshal?" Fred asked.

"We have initiated Code Black," Noon replied briskly.

Fred nodded. Code Black was a military procedure very rarely used, as it is almost never necessary. Each ephemeris, the device that shows the sequence of the Great Maze, had a secret switch installed, a switch that only those that bore an ephemeris knew about. If Code Black was initiated, every ephemeris that didn't have the secret switch flicked on would self-destruct. The good news about its use is that the enemy would have no knowledge of the Maze's sequence. The bad news was that Fred had left his ephemeris in his quarters, and would now need a new one.

"By now," Noon continued, "the enemy would have realized that the Great Maze shifts around. The good news is that they won't be able to know where each tile goes. Hopefully that won't deter them from venturing out into the Maze anyway, they would be very difficult to defeat if they simply locked themselves within the Citadel."

"Are the elevators still shut down, Marshal?" Fred asked.

"They are," Dawn replied, "except with permission from the New Architect, which you used to get here. The elevator in the Citadel has been blocked from the rest of the House, so the enemy cannot use it."

"What we need is to find a way to draw them out," said Thursday. "Bring them into the Maze, and their ours to control."

"Um, excuse me," said a timid voice. Fred was shocked to see that Rachel had moved to the table, and had been the one to speak.

"Madam, with respect, this is no time for your—"

"Let her speak, Noon," Thursday interrupted. "If she has a suggestion I would hear it." He did not say it sarcastically.

Rachel gulped, but continued. "You need a way to draw them out, you said. Well, perhaps if they see the girl that betrayed them, they will come out."

"We cannot put a civilian in such danger, sir," said Marshal Dusk.

"The New Architect has already given her leave," Thursday replied. "If she wants her chance to negotiate, then she has it. If it fails, then at least we'll have taunted them out of the Citadel and into the Maze."

"Thank you!" said Rachel. "Sir," she added hastily.

"Go outside," was Thursday's reply. "Gold will meet you in a few minutes."

Rachel did an inexperienced half-bow/half-salute, then scurried out of the room.

"You will leave immediately, as we want this meeting to take place just before sunset," Thursday said to Fred. "Make sure they get across to a moving tile before you meet with them."

"They won't stay in the Citadel forever, sir," said Fred. "They came to chase gods, after all."

"I'm sure you are right," said Thursday. "Go now, Gold."

Fred did a perfect salute, then turned to leave.

"And Gold," Thursday added at the last moment. "Protect her, at all costs. Even if it costs you your life."

* * *

"Oh my gosh, why did I agree to do this?" Rachel muttered to herself. She was pacing rapidly back and forth on the surface of the grassy tile they were now on. Fred was watching her with mild interest, though his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. According to the general, the Citadel was located three tiles to the east of their current position. Between the two lay a forest and what Fred called the Eastern Water Defense, though it was empty at the moment.

"How could I know why you agreed to do this?" Fred replied. "You made the decision, not me."

"It was a rhetorical question," Rachel sighed.

"I'm sorry, I think I missed that lesson when I was in training," said Fred. "What's a rhetorical question?"

"Piper's children," Rachel muttered. She remembered the first day she had met Fred, back when he had shown up on his own accord at the Court of Days. Art had muttered the same thing, then. It brought a smile to Rachel's lips.

"Well?"

"A rhetorical question is a question you ask that you're not expecting an answer to," Rachel explained, griming despite herself.

"Well that seems stupid," Fred sniffed. "Why ask a question if you don't want an answer?"

"It's complicated," Rachel answered slowly. "Just be thankful that your life is simple enough where rhetorical questions aren't necessary."

Fred looked like he wanted to reply to that, but he couldn't, as two of his soldiers burst onto the scene.

"Sir, they have seen our white flag and olive branch, and are sending out an envoy to meet us," said one of the soldiers, wearing the red uniform of a soldier of the Regiment (Fred had given her an entire rundown of the makeup of the Army on the way there).

"Good work, Buffin, Catow," said Fred with a nod. "Miss Dare and I will be moving to greet them, taking the white flag with us. I want ten soldiers flanking us to either side in case they decide to pull any surprises, but stay hidden in the woods! The rest of this unit will remain on this tile under your command, Buffin. Lead them back to White Keep once the tiles change."

"Yes, sir!" Buffin and Catow shouted. They then turned to gather up the twenty soldiers and split them into groups of ten.

"Well then, Rachel, are you ready?" Fred asked.

"Nope," said Rachel. Her smile was gone, and her nerves were all aflutter. She was never a leader, she could never convince other people to do what she believed was right, she wasn't even a demigod like they were. She was only Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a normal, mortal girl who merely dabbled in prophecy.

"Excellent, let's go," said Fred, marching across the plain and into the woods. With a sigh, Rachel followed.

The walk through the woods was quiet enough, almost too quiet, actually. Rachel could logically understand the lack of animals in these woods, but it still didn't feel right for there to be no sound other than that of her own feet moving alongside Fred. Fred said the silence was a good thing, it made it easier to hear things coming.

So, when Rachel heard a great rustling noise ahead, she knew that it was no animal, but the gods' envoy coming to meet her.

At first, she couldn't see them, as the trees were too thick and they did a good job of blending in. After some time, though she began to see some movement. It was a bunch of women, wearing camouflage clothing to hide themselves in the woods. Most of them bore silver bows with matching quivers, which indicated who they were: The Hunters of Artemis. That wasn't all though, Rachel saw.

She was expecting to see their leader at their head, Thalia Grace, but she was moving amongst the ranks of the Hunters, with her shock of raven hair dyed blue at the tips. At the head was a girl much younger. She was wearing a wolf-skin cloak, a giant silver bow, and had glowing auburn hair and skin that shined like the moon. Artemis herself had come to greet her.

The two groups looked at each other in silence for a few moments, each seizing each other up. _Not that there's much to seize up,_ Rachel thought glumly, as it was only her and Fred at this meeting. The Hunters had brought their entire entourage, but Rachel was sure that there were a lot more troops back at the Citadel.

"So," said Artemis slowly. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the traitor, has come to parlay with us."

"I have come to parlay," Rachel agreed, "but not with you, Artemis." She didn't know where the boldness came from, but she decided that boldness was the best way to go, the best way to get them to listen to her,

"Oh?" Artemis asked, eyebrows raised. "Normally it is more fruitful to parlay with the leader of the opposing force. Perhaps this general beside you needs to brush up on his war knowledge."

Fred stood stiff as a board, completely calm and emotionless.

"I have nothing to say to you Artemis," Rachel retorted. "You and all of the gods will soon face rightful justice before the Court of Days. Your days ruling Earth are numbered."

Rachel had hoped that Artemis would get flustered or fearful, but her face remained smooth and neutral. She even sported a small smirk, Rachel noted with annoyance. _Does she already know about the House?_ Rachel wondered. _Does she know what she's dealing with and doesn't care?_

"Foolish girl," Artemis scoffed. "It seems you have spent so much time among these people that you have forgotten about the might of the gods."

That made Rachel nervous and unconfident, but she couldn't show it. "One way or another," she said brashly, "you will be brought to heel. The only question is this : how many of your Hunters will you allow to fall before that happens?"

Artemis's smirk was gone, replaced by a look of glaring annoyance.

"I—"

"Thalia," Rachel interjected, looking at the leader of the Hunters, who was looking down at her shoes. "This doesn't have to end like this. Hundreds of people don't have to die. Stand down, and let Artemis stand trial. You know her, and you've followed her for the past three years. You wouldn't do that if you didn't think she was good, and if she's good, then she'll be found innocent and nothing bad will happen to her."

Thalia looked up at Rachel, her starling blue eyes a mix of emotion, but her face was cold. Silently, she shook her head.

Artemis began to chuckle, a high-pitched laugh of a ten-year-old girl. "Did you think my Hunters would betray me so easily, Miss Dare?" she crooned. "Not everyone is a traitor like you."

Suddenly her face grew angry, and she grew tall and menacing, over ten feet easily. She ran over to Rachel and leered over her in anger. "You think you can steal my brother and lock him up, and then turn my Hunters against me? You and your House will burn for what you've done!"

There were sounds to Rachel's right and left, and Fred's backup soldiers were there, weapons drawn. Fred himself drew a spear and hefted it at Artemis. The Hunters responded by knocking their bows and pointing it at the Regiment soldiers. The situation quickly grew tense, and nobody moved.

In the middle of it all, Artemis stood staring daggers at Rachel. Her bright eyes were so daunting, it took all of what Rachel had not to look away. She tried to stay strong, she tried to meet Artemis's stare with a stare of her own. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and could see thousands of years of memories, all glossed over by anger and hate, hate for the abduction of her brother.

Slowly, Artemis returned to her normal height, and her face calmed down, slightly. "You came to us under a truce banner, and we'll respect that. The next time you see us, our arrows will be flying."

She turned abruptly and walked back through the woods.

"Will none of you listen?" Rachel pleaded toward the Hunters. "Are you so blindly loyal that you can't see that a pointless war is about to be fought?"

The Hunters didn't even bother to turn around and acknowledge her. Rachel had failed.

At that moment, there was a grinding sound, just as the Hunters disappeared from view. Rachel got startled by the sudden sound that lasted a few seconds, and was followed by a popping sound. She looked around, trying to see what had happened, and was shocked to see that there was a mountain behind her.

"Wasn't that where the grassy field was?" Rachel asked.

"Come on," Fred replied in a whisper. "We have to get away before the Hunters come looking for us."

Rachel nodded, and Fred led her quietly through the woods, his soldiers following him. Twilight was beginning to take over the Great Maze, and light was fading. Rachel realized that while her plan had been a failure, Fred's had not been. He had drawn the Hunters out of the Citadel, and now they were far away from it, as the tiles of the Maze had shifted.

Still she felt bad for not being able to convince the Hunters to stand down. Perhaps she had been too bold, too incendiary, but she had a feeling she wouldn't have succeeded either way. There was only so much she could do against blind loyalty, which often trumped reasonable thinking.

After several minutes of quiet and careful running, they stumbled out of the woods and onto a new tile, a misty field with rolling hills and deep moors. The moon was now fully out, moving across the sky in a jerky, clocklike manner.

"I think that's good enough," said Fred. He and his twenty soldiers stopped walking and stood still, the twenty soldiers standing at attention.

"Now what?" Rachel asked. She figured they would be going back to White Keep.

"Now, we wait for sunrise," said Fred, looking at his ephemeris with a glint in his eye. "And then, we move forward. I have a plan."


	21. The Right Choice

CHAPTER 21: The Right Choice

The noise of battle was distant, but clear and loud. Sounds of swords wringing against swords, sounds of battle cries, and the unmistakable sound of lightning bolts striking. Reyna shivered as she heard that, and shuddered at the thought of Denizens dying from the white-hot electricity.

Overlaying it all was the clear voice of Monday's Dawn, who was hastily guiding the Denizens to Transfer Plates that would take them to the Middle House. She was a beautiful woman, with pale skin, and dark hair that contrasted nicely with her rosy pink dress. Her otherwise pretty face was marred, however, by the urgent and worried look that she wore, as it was her task to evacuate all of the Denizens of the Atrium before the battle moved there.

"Grab on to the nearest Denizen you can find, and make sure you're connected to the line!" Dawn announced. "If you're not connected to someone who's touching a Transfer Plate, you will be left behind!"

The Denizens, of course, weren't being very helpful, given their simple, obstinate nature. One was worried about the presence of tea in the Middle House, while another was refusing to go until he had his stack of papers set in order. Dawn bore all of this with weary patience and calm, yet forceful urging, but Reyna saw that she was close to snapping.

Also present was Friday's Noon, as Friday thought that a representative from the Middle House would be necessary to make the evacuation process smooth. Noon, though, wasn't really helping much, as his encouragement to other Denizens to move faster wasn't exactly strong.

"Come on, it's time to go," he said softly, not at all urgent enough to get the Denizens to move. Reyna, sighing, stepped in.

"Do you want to die?" she asked bluntly to the Denizen in question, a lady who was insisting on delivering her inkpots. "If you don't move, then there will be a nice lightning bolt waiting for you."

"But what about my inkpots?" she cried.

"Forget the inkpots! You'll get new ones!"

The Denizen made a sour face at Reyna, but complied.

"Thank you," said Noon wearily.

"No problem," said Reyna. "You could repay me with some news of the happenings around the House."

"Things are looking bleaker than I'd thought," Noon admitted. "The situation in the Great Maze has calmed down, as I've heard the enemy army has not issued from the Citadel. The Army is gathering its forces, though I do not know how they will proceed. The Border Sea is facing more of a challenge, or so I hear. A fire-demon is setting everything alight, and Wednesday, as usual, doesn't have enough forces."

"And here?" Reyna asked.

"The invaders have made progress, but slow progress," said Noon. "They have moved past Doorstop Hill and are making for this very city. The forces of the Lower House are fighting well, though. The Commissionaires make for a strong center, and the Midnight Visitors control the air. Monday's Noon and Dusk are holding their forces in order, and Monday himself is using the First Key effectively, but…"

"But?"

"The lightning bolts," Noon shivered. "They are taking out much of the House's forces. If it weren't for Monday's Key, this city wouldn't be here."

Reyna's jaw set. "I'm going to talk to them, to see if I convince them to stop fighting."

"Good luck," said Friday's Noon. "You'll need it."

Trying not to let the knot of worry in her stomach expand, Reyna set out of the city, and went to survey the battlefield.

The battle seemed to be going in a stalemate. A little way off, in the distance, Doorstop Hill rose above the plain that surrounded it, the wooden Front Door standing still and strong. From Doorstop Hill, down to about the halfway point between it and the city, the army of the gods was situated. Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones made up the center of the army, and were being confronted directly by the Commissionaires and their sergeants, Monday's Noon at their head. To Reyna's left, an entire horde of centaurs, led by Chiron, were making war with the Midnight Visitors. There were Midnight Visitors to Reyna's right as well, and they were fighting…

"Oh, gods…" Reyna breathed. The entire Twelfth Legion, led bravely by Frank Zhang, were fighting very fiercely, but that was to be expected. What she had totally forgotten about were the Amazons, who were clashing with a force of Midnight Visitors with their black capes.

And at their head, her sister, Hylla.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no," Reyna repeated over and over to herself. She had worked up a great deal of courage for the past hour in order to face her legion, but she was not prepared to meet her sister, not now. She would be so disappointed, so, so disappointed. Hylla, who she had grown up with, who she had clung to for protection from their abusive father, would start to hate her.

A lightning strike knocked her out of her sad thoughts, and she remembered her job. She couldn't allow this battle to go on. The Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed ones, they would keep fighting as long as Jupiter did, but maybe she could make the demigods see reason, just like she saw reason all those days ago.

Speaking of Jupiter, she had finally located him, though he wasn't terribly hard to miss. His hands were spread, as he tried to extend his power to cause lightning to strike. His was opposed by Mister Monday himself, who wielded the glowing First Key and tried to oppose some of Jupiter's power. Monday mostly succeeded, though Jupiter was able to create a lightning strike every now and then.

She was wondering why Monday wasn't using the First Key more offensively, but part of her was relieved that he was not. Using the Key would doubtlessly cause many lives to be lost, and Art probably ordered him against doing so. Reyna silently thanked him for being so thoughtful, and used that as confirmation that she was fighting for the right side.

She couldn't afford to worry about Jupiter, though. She had demigods to deal with.

She descended into the battlefield, and tried to make her way toward her right, where the demigods were concentrated. She had to duck beneath Commissionaires, Midnight Visitors, and Cyclopes to get there, weaving in and out of the individual battles to get to where she needed to be.

"Reyna!" said a familiar voice. She turned to see Monday's Dusk approaching her in the midst of the battle. He used to be Noon, but wasn't Noon anymore, and the current Noon used to not be Noon. Or something like that, Reyna found that to be confusing.

"Dusk!" she hailed. They met in the middle of the battlefield, near the demigods and Amazons. "I've come to convince them to stand down!"

"Good!" Dusk replied. He turned suddenly to blast a Cyclopes out of their path, then turned back to her. "My Midnight Visitors are too spread out! They could use a break!"

"I'll try my best!" Reyna promised. She ducked as a Midnight Visitor careened through the air, just missing her. "I can see you need my help."

Dusk nodded. "Yes, I think that is very evident. Good luck!" With a beat of his wings, Dusk took off, returning to battle.

"Now, how to get their attention?" Reyna muttered to herself in the din of battle. She took a look at the battle, her senses on high alert. She thought she had a good chance of nobody rushing to attack her, figuring that any Cyclopes would think she's a demigod fighting for the gods, and any Commissionaire or Midnight Visitor would know her for what she truly was. Still there was no reason not to be careful.

Luckily for her, the Twelfth Legion was as organized as ever, and the Amazons were always very coordinated. An inkling of an idea dripped into her head, but would it work? Reyna hoped so, and there was no sense in not trying. So she cupped her hands around her lips, took a breath, and shouted, "Twelfth Legion, stand to!"

Her voice cut clean across the battle like a hot knife through cheese. Almost all of the Roman soldiers stopped fighting based on instinct alone. They had been following her commands for years, now, and it was buried in their instincts. Confused Romans lowered their weapons, and turned to see where the familiar voice had come from.

"Midnight Visitors, back around! To the left!" Monday's Dusk ordered from above, his wings spread. "Stand to? You've been spending more time among us than we thought," he said with a small smile before veering away.

"The flying vampire is right," said the gruff voice of Frank Zhang. "You've been gone a long time."

Reyna turned to look at him, to look at the new praetor of the Legion. It had only been about ten days or so, Earth time, but he looked like he aged a few years in that time alone. His face was haggard, and his eyes were tired. He was dressed in full body armor, and was wielding his favorite weapon, a bow and arrow.

Reyna's smile vanished in an instant. "It hasn't been that long, Praetor Zhang, that this Legion does not remember me."

Another legionnaire stepped up beside Frank, his face full of anger. "You have real nerve coming here, Reyna!" Dakota screamed. "You abandoned us and everything we stand for!" He was angry yes, but what struck Reyna more was the hurt in his face.

"Stand back, Dakota," said Frank quietly, extending an arm. "He's right, though, Reyna. You risk arrest and execution just by coming in front of us, according to Roman law."

"You risk arrest yourselves," Reyna retorted. "You have come to the House armed and have fought against the New Architect's loyal forces."

"Is that why you're here? To arrest us?"

"I have come to save you," Reyna replied. She had to pitch it like that, or they'd never listen. "You are fighting a war you cannot win, and are causing unnecessary bloodshed at the command of others. Please, stop this."

"A war we can't win?" said Frank. "It looks to me like we're beating your precious friends!" The venom in his voice was unmasked. He, too, looked more hurt than anything. Reyna looked around slowly, looked at the faces of all of the legionnaires. She saw Hazel, near Frank's side, she saw Dakota, and Leila, and Michael Kahale, and saw the hurt and betrayal in their eyes, plain on their faces.

For the first time in a long time, Reyna questioned her decision. Did she do the right thing in betraying the gods? It wasn't just them that she betrayed, it was her entire legion, all of her friends, the only friends she had ever had. She would tell herself it was for the good of the world, and she believed, but seeing her friends, seeing the utter sadness at her betrayal, it almost seemed like it wasn't worth.

Something her mother said kept reverberating in her head. _Reyna, with such a decision, there is hardly a right or wrong choice_ , she had said. Visions of her many nightmares came back to her, all of the gods deeds. Was it worth it? It certainly seemed so, even if her friends didn't see it.

"I—I didn't make the right choice," she said softly.

"What?" Frank asked. "Speak up!"

"I didn't make the right choice," she said. "There is no right choice, there is only the best choice for one's self. And I made mine."

"Reyna," said a new voice, a voice that was too familiar for Reyna to deal with, one that brought a flash of pain to her face. It was Hylla.

"Reyna," she repeated in a whisper. "What happened to you, Reyna?"

She turned to face her sister, her older sister. She was wearing armor, her blonde, beautiful hair flowing over her shoulders. The Amazons were assembled behind her, weapons in hand.

"What happened, Reyna?" she repeated. She didn't seem hurt, or sad, just…confused.

"I made my choice, Hylla," Reyna said through gritted teeth and closed eyes, trying to keep the tears in. "Now, you have to make yours."

Hylla suddenly embraced her, something that she had never done in all the years that Reyna could remember. "Reyna, don't do this. Please, I won't fight my sister. Fight with us."

"Hylla…I…can't," Reyna said slowly. She pushed herself away from her, suppressing a sob, and turned back to the legion. "Legion, as praetor, I order you to stand down. You'll all get yourselves and others killed!"

"You think you're praetor?" Frank barked. "Legion, prepare to advance!"

"Has there been a full vote of the Senate to remove me?" Reyna challenged.

"It doesn't matter," said Frank.

"I'm still praetor then," she continued. "I command the legion to stand down!"

"I'm praetor as well!" said Frank. "Which praetor will you listen to, legion? The one that betrayed you, or the one that's loyal to Rome?"

Reyna looked around. She knew Frank would play that card, and she knew she couldn't beat it. The legion looked uncertain, but began to draw their weapons. The Amazons stood still, though, which Reyna took with some hope.

"I've made my choice," Reyna said firmly. "I've said that several times. Now it's time to make yours. Who will you be, Twelfth Legion? Will you be butcherers? Dogs acting at the hands of their masters, blindly loyal? Or will you think for yourselves, with logic and morals? What is your choice?"

"Your choice isn't finite, you know," said a soft voice. And the absolute last person Reyna wanted to see stepped out of the bulk of the legion. He was wearing a simple, purple T-Shirt, and his eyes were bright blue, and sad as can be. Jason Grace.

"My choice is my choice, Jason," Reyna said stolidly. "I cannot go back."

"You can always go back," Jason said softly, his voice so kind and passionate. It was no wonder Reyna had been so in love with him. "You're still wearing that purple cloak, Reyna. Just think about what's right, and who you love, and who you stand for."

"I…" Reyna faltered.

"You love your sister," he continued, indicating Hylla, whose eyes were unfocused. "You stand for Rome, you love Rome, you always have. I was there, Reyna, I know you."

"Stop it!" Reyna exclaimed. "Stop!"

Jason was getting into her head, and he was striking some chords. She did love her sister, and she did commit her entire life to Rome. But he told her think about what was right? What _was_ right?

 _Reyna, with such a decision, there's hardly a right or wrong choice_.

With a scream, a cry that echoed through the Atrium from floor to ceiling, Reyna tore off her purple cloak and threw it on the ground. "I stand for peace!" she spat at Jason, letting off a hefty amount of emotion. "I stand for order! I stand for a good world, safe from the rule of evil gods! I stand with my good-hearted friends! With Nico and Rachel, Arthur and Suzy, Leaf and Fred! That's who I stand for, Jason!"

There was utter silence. They seemed to be in a bubble, in which the noises of battle could not be heard. Outside the bubble, the battle raged on between the gods' army and the Lower House, but within, nothing moved. All were still at Reyna's starling declaration, including Reyna herself.

She was stunned at herself, but she felt so much better after that. She finally had made peace with her decision. Her mother had been right, there was no right choice, no wrong choice. There was only the best choice for her, and she made it.

And then the bubble was broken, courtesy of Mars.

The god of war came sauntering over, between the Legion and the Amazons, and stared daggers at Reyna. His eyes were afire, literally, and his face was twisted in a cruel sneer. He had a spear in hand, a spear that Reyna saw, to her horror, was stained blue.

"So, the traitor finally admits her crime," Mars crooned. "Good, it will justify my killing of her, then."

"Mars," said Reyna. "I have said what I said. Spin it into treachery if it suits you."

"No spinning required," said Mars. "I think I will do to you what Achilles did to Hector. I will drag your body from the back of my war chariot!"

Hylla's eyes widened, but Reyna remained firm. "You'd have to kill me first, you know."

Mars's smile only deepened. "That shouldn't be a problem, little traitor. You are no match for a god."

"Percy Jackson fought you once," Reyna commented, refusing to be cowed. "If he can do it, so can I."

"Reyna," Hylla whispered. "You can't…"

"Very well," said Mars. "This will be fun!"

Reyna's response was to heft her own spear, levying it bravely against the war god. "Yes, this will be fun. Liberating the world from monsters like you truly is a joy."

Mars bellowed in laughter. "Then come at me, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano!"

Reyna was happy to oblige. Grip on her spear tight, Reyna bellowed a war cry and charged at the god of war.


	22. What Friends Do

CHAPTER 22: What Friends Do

Leaf was still holding her sword, which was an accomplishment to her. She has been facing off against a small, runty demigod for the past few minutes. He was beating her, but she was doing well for someone who had no sword skills. It was the rage that fueled her, rage and anger at the demise of her Captain.

The runty demigod that she was fighting was the first in a large knot of demigods, the rest of whom had largely ignored her when she took up arms against him. They had fought on the rocks, and Leaf had gained several cuts from the fight, including a nasty one on her arm which stung incredibly.

Still, she found that she could ignore the pain by focusing on the fight, by focusing on her anger. With renewed energy, she charged at the demigod, teeth bared and white hair wild and billowing. She slashed and slashed at the demigod, who continued to successfully fight her off. He wasn't much better with a sword than she, but he was still better.

"What is your problem?" the demigod grunted, blocking yet another thrust from Leaf. "We're on the same side, you know!"

"On the same side?" Leaf asked. "You think I'm a demigod. Ha! You don't recognize me, do you?"

"Should I?" the boy asked. He seemed to be about sixteen or seventeen, with a Latino accent and olive skin.

"I saw you in New York," Leaf explained. "Central Park."

The kid's eyes widened. "You're a god-napper!"

"And you're a captain-killer!" Leaf retorted. She didn't know who this poor guy was, but she was angry, and he was convenient.

"Look, I don't want to fight a twelve-year-old," the kid said, putting his hands in front of him. "Why don't we just go our separate ways and pretend we never saw each other, okay?"

Now that puzzled Leaf. She had just revealed that she was one of the seven that had been capturing gods, and this all-important demigod, one of the golden heroes of the gods, apparently, didn't care? Was it possible that he was decent.

"Well?" the kid asked.

"I—I don't know," said Leaf uncertainly. "I thought you'd be madder."

The kid smiled sheepishly. "What can I say, I'm not a grudge holder."

"You're not a grudge holder," Leaf repeated.

"Nope," he said with a smile. "My father, though, is a different story."

Suddenly Leaf was enveloped completely in strong, burly arms. Whoever had taken her was squeezing her very hard, and was holding her very tight, making it impossible to escape.

"Nice work, son!" the man, or god, Leaf realized, said in a deep, burly voice. As Poseidon was still fighting Wednesday, she could only assume it was the fire god.

"You tricked me!" Leaf yelled at the kid. "You were just stalling for time!"

"Tricking people is one of my specialties," the kid said simply. "Like I said, nothing personal."

The burly god started to move toward the water, back toward the burning ships.

"Where are you taking me?" Leaf demanded. "What are you doing with me?"

"To one of the ships," the god replied gruffly. "One of the ones we control. "Then, you'll be brought to Olympus, where you will be punished for your crimes."

Leaf was about to retort when there was an explosion from behind her, an explosion that nearly blinded her with bright, white light. Struggling through her captor's hold, she just managed to see what was happening, and her heart fluttered with joy.

Hundred of Internal Auditors, led by Saturday's Noon, were descending onto the battle scene. There were as many Artful Lounger and Sorcerous Supernumeraries joining the fight, as their wings nearly completely covered the sky. Then the god holding her snapped her head back forward.

"It seems we are out of time," he murmured. "I guess I'll just have to kill you on the ship, then.

* * *

It was the explosion that eventually woke him. He was completely out of it, but he couldn't remember why. It had something to do with a pain in his leg, once sharp but now dulled over. His vision was slowly returning to him, though it was still very blurry at this point. He tried to listen, at least, but the sound of the explosion still rung in his ears.

Nico tried to lift his head, but he was still to weak for that. New sounds began to fill his ears, the sounds of strange battle cries very far overhead. He felt like he had heard them before, they sounded quite familiar, but he couldn't place them. He could only see directly overhead, where it seemed like a large, dark cloud had covered the ceiling-sky.

Suddenly Nico could make out a man standing over him, looking down on him. He had long, jet-black hair that fell to his shoulders. His outfit was completely dark, which contrasted completely with his super pale skin. He seemed familiar, too, this man, and it took Nico a second to realize that it was his father, Hades.

"Get up, my son," he said quietly and gently.

"My…my leg," Nico murmured. "It got stabbed."

"I've healed it," his father replied softly. "I still have some of my godly powers left, it seems. Not that I've ever been a good healer, you see, I am the god of death, after all, but I did what I could."

Slowly, and with a grunt, Nico sat up. Having done that, he was able to get a better look at what was going on around him. It seemed like the forces of the Upper House had come to the rescue. Artful Loungers, Internal Auditors, and Sorcerous Supernumeraries crowded the sky, which is what Nico mistook for a cloud earlier. They were descending into the city, hopefully neutralizing the demigod and Cyclopes forces without killing any of them.

On the beach, the Cyclopes that still fought looked up nervously to the sky, while the Nissers seemed to have regained some confidence and energy. Wednesday's Dawn was fighting with renewed vigor, pushing the Cyclopes back into the sea.

Wednesday herself was fighting with more confidence as well, Nico could see. She had a small smile on her face, and her movements were more sure and effective. Poseidon now sported a frown, and had to work to keep up with Wednesday's movements. Things finally looked like they were in the House's favor.

"This battle will be over soon," said Hades, "but not before I have taken part. Poseidon is occupied, but I heard that my nephew Hephaestus is present as well. We must find him before he can do any more mischief."

"What mischief could he possibly do?" Nico asked. "The Artful Loungers will take care of him, or…"

His voice died out slowly as he looked toward the sea. There, in plain sight, hopping on the waves, was Hephaestus. He seemed to be in a hurry, no doubt because of the sudden appearance of Saturday's forces. He also seemed to be carrying something, or someone, Nico realized with dread. A small someone, with a shock of white hair…

"There he is!" Nico pointed. "And he's got my friend, Leaf!"

"What are we waiting for, then?" Hades asked. He helped Nico to his feet, and the two rushed to the sea, carefully skirting the now epic battle between Wednesday and Poseidon. Poseidon did not notice his brother walking by, as he was too focused on Wednesday. Taking advantage of the sea being solid, Nico and Hades ran toward the ship that Hephaestus was making for.

"I thought the water would only hold for the demigods?" Nico asked.

"You're a demigod, aren't you?" Hades replied.

"Why is he heading to a ship?" Nico asked. "What could possibly be there?"

"I don't know," Hades admitted. "I don't think it'll be good, though. We must hurry!"

Nico and his father picked up the pace in an attempt to close the distance between them and Hephaestus. The forge god was ahead of them, but he was burdened by carrying Leaf, which made him run slower than usual. Nico put all of his effort into his running. He didn't even stop to marvel at the fact that he was running on water, he was just focused on saving his friend

"Let me go!" Nico heard Leaf scream aggressively at Hephaestus, who didn't reply.

"Hold on, Leaf!" Nico yelled in reply. They were closer now, they were nearly there. They just had to reach Hephaestus before he reached the ship…

"Hephaestus!" Hades roared just as his nephew reached the ship. There was a ladder that ran from the ship's deck down to sea level, and Hephaestus had his hand on the first rung as he looked back. The ship had originally been one of Wednesday's, as her seal was on the sail, but it was clear that the gods had taken it over and spared it from burning to use it for operation purposes.

"Hades!" Hephaestus replied. "I'm glad to see you are alright! I have one of the seven who captured you, along with your treacherous son—"

Hephaestus cut himself off as he looked at Nico for the first time, standing alongside his father. His eyes went back and forth between the two, getting wider each time. "What is this?" he asked in shock.

"I wasn't captured, you dolt," Hades growled. "I came here on my own."

"You…you betrayed your own kind?" Hephaestus asked in pure astonishment.

"My kind betrayed me when they stuck me in the Underworld for all eternity," Hades said in a low voice. "And now you threaten the lives of my son and his friend, you, my feebleminded brothers, my ostentatious sister, and their evil spawn. I never disliked you, Hephaestus, so I will give you fair warning. Unhand the girl, lay down your arms, and surrender yourself to my son to face trial."

"You say that like it is a simple thing to face trial," Hephaestus replied. "What about you, uncle? What about the terrible things you've done? Will you face trial for them?"

Hades did not hesitate for a second. "I have done terrible things, I admit it. Horrible, awful, inexcusable things, but at least I have the small honor to admit that I did them. I also have the fortune of having a son, a wonderful son, who has fought to set my wrongs to right."

Nico looked up at his father to find his eyes shining with pride. Relief, too, but mostly pride. It was that kind of feeling he had been wanting to see in his dad for as long as he could remember. Then he turned to where Leaf was, in the arms of Hephaestus, and saw her eyes. Eyes full of fear, eyes that begged Nico to get her out of this terrible situation. Nico realized that a father/son moment would have to wait.

"Hephaestus, let her go," Nico urged softly. "We can find a way out of this. I've met the New Architect, the guy in charge here, and he's a really fair guy. If he finds out that you let her go, he'll reward you."

"Reward me how?" Hephaestus scoffed.

"A lenient sentence, if you're found guilty," Nico replied enticingly. "You were thrown off of Olympus the moment you were born, weren't you? That could be taken into account. Just let her go, please."

Hephaestus gulped. "I was told by Zeus to execute her, you realize. He wants all seven of you to be put to death upon sight."

"And you were willing to listen?" Nico retorted, cold anger rising slowly within him. "You were okay with murdering a child, just because Zeus told you so?"

"I don't like murdering children," said Hephaestus. "You don't understand the consequences of disobeying Zeus, son of Hades. The punishments that he is capable of…"

"You shouldn't be scared of him," said Hades. "His time in power is almost over."

"But what if the gods win?" Hephaestus asked, face now clearly fearful. "What if Zeus finds out that I didn't kill her?"

"Does it look like the gods are winning, Hephaestus?" said Nico. "Look behind me. You're outnumbered, badly. Saturday's troops will be here any minute."

"But this is only one battle!" Hephaestus pointed out. "What if the gods win the other two, wherever they might be? What happens if the gods defeat this New Architect?"

Nico sighed. "You're acting nonsensical. If you don't put her down, we're going to attack you, two on one. This is your last chance, Hephaestus. What will it be?"

A thin bead of sweat trickled down Hephaestus's temple. His beard seemed more ashen and flaming than usual, and his eyebrow was twitching. _Just say yes_ , Nico thought. _Please, just say yes!_

Hephaestus let out a long, sad sigh. "I…I cannot," he finally said. Nico's face fell, Hades looked grim, and Leaf looked absolutely terrified, beginning to shout. Then Hephaestus's hands began to grow smoky. "If we are to battle, then let it begin," he challenged.

"That won't be necessary," said a low voice from above.

Suddenly the butt of a spear came flying from above, and it struck Hephaestus directly in the head. Hard. The god of the forge grunted, grew woozy, and lost consciousness as he hung limply from the ladder. His grip on Leaf was loosened, and she crashed into the sea, not being a demigod or god.

"I got the little lass!" the man who struck Hephaestus announced, jumping from the ship into the sea. He was a tall man, with a very short beard and the slightest bit of grey in his hair. He wore a very fancy uniform, and a matching hat, and he held the spear very awkwardly.

"Sunscorch!" Leaf exclaimed. "Or, sorry, Wednesday's Noon."

"Call me Sunscorch," said Sunscorch with a nod. He looked down at the spear he was holding. "Not a seafaring weapon, this one. Glad I found it aboard."

"Me too," said Leaf. "Thank you for rescuing me."

"Don't thank me, thank your friend, and his, ah, father," said Sunscorch. "They're the ones that stalled for time. I saw you a long way off, and swam as fast as I could."

"Thank you," said Nico gratefully. "He was about to burn us alive."

"Fire-demon," Sunscorch muttered. "Take him along when we head back to shore. He's under arrest in the name of the New Architect and Lady Wednesday."

Nico complied wordlessly with the request, enjoying the sudden onrush of relief at Sunscorch's appearance. He took Hephaestus from the ladder and handed him to his father, who carried him easily. Nico then grabbed onto Sunscorch and Leaf, who were magically able to walk on the water once Nico touched them.

"I've been travelling by sea my entire life, but not once have I done so in this fashion," said Sunscorch, which made Leaf and Nico laugh. A strange group they were: two humans, a Denizen, and god, walking back to the shores of Port Wednesday in the Border Sea. Somehow Nico was at peace with it.

Speaking of Port Wednesday, the sight there was much more hopeful then it had been an hour ago, Nico saw. Superior Saturday herself had joined the battle against Poseidon, and she and Drowned Wednesday had backed him into a corner. Between Wednesday's Third Key and Saturday's Sixth, Poseidon stood now chance. Still, he was fighting like mad, refusing to go down, which Nico supposed earned him some credit.

Elsewhere, the battle was pretty much done. Saturday's forces had effectively taken control of Port Wednesday, and had neutralized the attacking force. Many Cyclopes were surrendering, and Nico was glad to see that the Upper House forces had largely let them survive. Tents were being set up to treat the wounded, whether they be invader or defender. Many demigods were being brought there, several of them stunned frozen by sorcerers that didn't want to kill.

Saturday's Noon and Wednesday's Dusk (Scamandros) were running in and out of the healing tents, using sorcery to heal injuries. Nico was glad to see that most of the Nissers he had thought dead were merely severely injured, and he took solace in the fact that Denizen body parts grew back quickly. Leaf even saw someone she found familiar (someone she called Captain), hobbling around with a bandage around his midsection, and ran to him.

The fires had been severe, but Wednesday's Dawn had been put in charge of quelling those. She was aided in the effort by Saturday's Dusk, a tall, handsome Denizen wearing a black cloak trimmed with red. Most of Sunscorch's fleet had been destroyed, but Nico hoped that a lot of the Denizens had escaped, rather than perished in the flames.

"I will never surrender!" Poseidon was screaming. The look in his eyes was clearly crazed, as he couldn't comprehend the fact that the gods had been defeated here. "I am a god!"

"It is over, brother," Hades called to him. "Stop fighting this useless fight."

"Hades…arggh!" he shouted. Poseidon had turned his attention to Hades for a single moment, but that was all Saturday needed to envelop him in a glowing red cord that shot out from the tip of the quill that was the Sixth Key.

"I, Saturday, Superior Sorceress of the Upper House, former Trustee to the Supreme Creator, Ultimate Architect of All, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the god Poseidon, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days."

"Lovely declaration," said Hades. "Would you be so kind as to repeat it?"

Wednesday did the honors, and then Hephaestus was chained in an ordinary chain, since he was still unconscious from the blow to the head. Saturday then cast a spell on Poseidon that would make him temporarily lose his voice, in order to avoid the inevitable threat-spewing that would issue from his mouth.

"Well, that's done," said Saturday in her usual regal, airy tone.

"Thank you for your aid, Saturday," said Wednesday gratefully. "The Border Sea owes you a great debt."

"I don't think so," said Saturday. "Consider this one on me, for my friend."

That statement put Wednesday into some sort of shock, as her face simply froze. No one said anything, but Saturday's implication was clear. Nico had heard some time or another about how Saturday betrayed Wednesday, and this was Saturday's way of making amends and renewing their friendship.

 _Friends,_ Nico thought.

One particular friend came to mind. A friend once very dear to him. A friend that he currently wasn't on the best terms with.

He began searching the city for him, scanning the docks, beaches, streets, and buildings for any sign of him. Maybe he was injured in one of the tents, or maybe he was wandering the streets. He was probably with his girlfriend, the one with the blonde hair, the one that had stabbed him in the calf. He hoped to find one of them. He suddenly hoped, perhaps irrationally, that he could amend his friendship, like Saturday had with Wednesday.

And then he found what he was looking for. Blonde hair, very, very bright blonde hair, belonging to a girl that was walking toward him. _No_ , he thought suddenly. _That's white hair, not blonde_. The person came into focus, and Nico realized that she was alone, and was much younger than Annabeth Chase, with a much more innocent, cheerful expression.

"Hey," Leaf said, waving her arm as she approached.

"Hey," Nico replied. It wasn't awkward, they had adventured together through thick and thin, after all.

"My Captain's going to be okay," she told him. "It'll take a long time for his guts to grow back, but he'll manage."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah," Leaf agreed. "Hey, thanks again for rescuing me and all. I don't think cooking in Hephaestus's hands would have been very pleasant."

Nico smiled. "No problem. It's what friends do."


	23. Tectonic Stratedy

CHAPTER 23: Tectonic Strategy

Dawn was breaking over the Great Maze, or whatever passed for dawn with the ceiling-sky of the House. The mist still hung low over the rolling hills on which Fred and his troops had camped. The air was fresh, even though there was no cool breeze or soft wind.

Stretching, Fred got up from where he had been sleeping and began to rouse his troops. It didn't take long, as the soldiers were quick to snap to attention once they had woken up. In a matter of seconds, they were standing at attention, ready for orders.

"Stand easy," said Fred calmly. "We're in the field, there's no need for formality."

"Yes, sir!" they all snapped.

"I just said there's no need for formality," Fred sighed. "Night watchers, anything to report?"

"Nothing on my shift, sir," said one of the Denizens. The other three that had split up the night watch each proceeded to report that they hadn't seen anything. _Good,_ Fred thought, _it seems the Hunters have gone in the opposite direction._

"Prepare to start moving in ten minutes," Fred ordered. "We have to reach our destination by noon if our plan is going to succeed."

"Yes, sir!" the troops replied, before realizing their mistake and simply wandering off to break their miniscule camp.

"What's going on?" came Rachel's hazy voice from a few feet away. Fred glanced in her direction, having momentarily forgotten that she was with them. Her hair was very messy, red curls frizzing all over the place. Her eyes were groggy, and she wore an irritable expression that most people wore when they were just waking up.

"We're moving," said Fred. "I told you I had a plan, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and what plan is that?" Rachel asked through a yawn.

"You'll see," said Fred. He didn't want to break the details of the plan to anyone just yet, not before rechecking his ephemeris and contacting Sir Thursday. He wanted to make sure that the plan would actually work, and he wanted Sir Thursday's approval, of course. It would be a very difficult plan to execute, but it would put an end to this war quickly and bloodlessly, which was an absolute necessity.

"Great, a mystery," Rachel muttered, but Fred was already looking at his ephemeris. The main thing about the Great Maze, he knew, was the moving tiles, but when most thought of those, they pictured tiles moving from one location all the way to another over a long distance. What many didn't realize was that the tiles didn't necessarily have to move long distances, they sometimes moved moderate distances, or even just a few miles from where they were before.

For example, the tile that they were on last night, two square miles from the Citadel, had only moved six miles from the night before, and was now only four miles away from the Citadel. It was this that Fred looked to capitalize on.

Ten minutes later, Fred finished speaking with Sir Thursday via communication statuette. Thursday had been reluctant, but agreed in the end, giving Fred permission to go through with his plan.

"Sir, we are ready for departure," said one of the soldiers.

"Excellent, we march east," said Fred.

"If I may ask, sir, where specifically are we going?"

"We are marching three miles east, and then I am going on alone," Fred replied. "I'm going to sneak into the Citadel."

"You're going to do what?" Rachel exclaimed, making Fred wince.

He turned around, meeting her stare for stare. "You heard correctly, I'm going to sneak into the Citadel."

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Rachel insisted.

"If I die, then I die," Fred said simply, "but I will complete my mission."

"You can't go by yourself," said Rachel. "It's too dangerous, you'll never succeed on your own."

"I don't have a choice," said Fred. Why couldn't she see what he saw. Why didn't she understand that being in the Army required putting the welfare of the House above everything, even one's own life.

"No, you can't go by yourself," Rachel insisted. "So I'm coming with you."

* * *

An hour later, Fred and Rachel stood looking at the walls of the Citadel. They were in the Western Water Defense, a twin of the Eastern Water Defense except it was located on the other side of the Citadel. It, too was empty, which meant that they could cross it quickly without having to swim.

"I can't believe you talked me into letting you join me," Fred muttered. He usually considered himself a strong-willed person, but Rachel had left no room for argument.

"I'm very persuasive," Rachel said simply. "We're not going to get into that fortress by talking about it."

"No," Fred agreed. "We're not." He had seriously protested to her joining him on this dangerous mission, but if she was going to come, then there was no point in wasting time arguing. The mission came first, no matter what.

They had left their unit behind in the previous square. There job was at an end, and Fred had given them directions on how to return to White Keep. Now it was just he and Rachel, trying to find their way into the Citadel.

"Do you have a plan?" Rachel asked.

"I know a secret way in," said Fred. "The drains that are used to fill this tile would be empty, since the water isn't there."

"And what if they turn it on?" Rachel asked. "We'll drown!"

"They won't turn it on," Fred assured her. "Turning it on requires a bit of House sorcery, or the use of the Fourth Key. It'll stay dry."

"I hope you're right," said Rachel.

"You ready?"

Rachel shrugged. "I guess I am."

"Then let's go," said Fred. He took off quickly across the Western Water Defense, making sure to stay low to the ground. It was a good thing that the red uniforms of the Regiment blended in with the reddish dirt of the tile. Rachel would have a harder time blending in, but hopefully they were quick enough that no one on the walls would notice.

It took them a good eight to nine minutes to cross the entire tile, as it was a long mile from end to end. By the time Rachel and Fred were pressing themselves against the wall, they were both red in the face and out of breath.

"Hopefully no one saw us," said Rachel breathlessly. "It's a good thing they only have Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones here. Strong creatures, but not very bright."

Fred nodded. "The drain should be to the right, come on."

He led on, keeping an eye out for the drain against the wall. He found it quickly, a hole in the wall just large enough for the two of them to fir through. He went first, of course, leading the way as a general should. He went slowly, making sure that Rachel was following him before proceeding.

It was very dark in the drain, so dark that Fred could not see even a foot in front of him. Only the scraping of Rachel's shoes against the floor of the drain confirmed that she was actually behind him. He couldn't see the top, either, and bumped his head a time or two against the wet stone.

After a few minutes of crawling, the darkness did not let up, and Fred began to grow worried. He had never been inside the drain before, he didn't know how far it stretched back, nor did he know how long it took to get to the end. Surely they should be getting near an exit point by now?

"Fred?" Rachel asked nervously. "How do you know if there even is an exit point from the drain to the rest of the Citadel?"

"Uh, I don't," Fred answered honestly. He now cursed himself for being so stupid. How could he assume that the drain would lead to an exit? There was no proof of it, and he had never been inside. With fear, he thought that maybe they never would find an exit, that maybe Rachel and he would be trapped in this drain…

Suddenly, Fred thought he could see a faint light, a very faint light, up above his head. It was so faint, and so far away, that he wasn't sure that it existed. Nevertheless, he reached his arm up, and nearly cried aloud in celebration when he didn't touch cold stone. After moving his hand around a bit, his hands stumbled upon something cold and metallic. It was a ladder.

"Rachel!" Fred whisper-shouted. "I found a way out!"

"That's great!" Rachel replied quietly. "It's about time."

"There's a ladder here, you're gonna have to find it for yourself," Fred explained. "We'll climb all the way to the top."

He began to climb, hoping that the sound of his feet against the rungs of the ladder would be sufficient in guiding Rachel to the ladder's location.

"Fred, I can't find it—oh, there it is!" Rachel called. Fred heard her begin her silent climb, and prayed that neither of them slipped down.

The hallway in which they emerged was blessedly empty. Sure, there were a lot of people in the Citadel, but the Citadel was a large place. Fred poked his head out of the hole in the floor, did a quick once over, and scrambled out, urging Rachel to do the same at a quick rate. Seeing a weapons storage room at the end of the hall, Fred scrambled in that direction, leading Rachel by the hand and closing the door behind her.

"Okay, I think we're good so far," Fred whispered.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "Listen, this probably would've been more appropriate to ask before we snuck in here, but what are you planning to do in the Citadel anyway?"

"You'll see," Fred promised. "I can't risk anyone overhearing the plan right now."

"Fine," Rachel relented. "Where do we need to go, then?"

"The control room," said Fred. "I know how to get there. Just follow me, and stay quiet. We have to get everything done before sunset."

Rachel looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but she blessedly held them in. She and Fred stole out of the weapons closet and crept down the hall. From what Fred could tell, they were in the innermost ring of the four rings of the Citadel. They needed to get within the inner ring and into the central Star Fort. It was there that the control room was located.

"We'll be making a right turn soon," warned Fred. "It might be more crowded when we do. Just stay quiet, and hope for the best."

"How far is it?" Rachel whispered. "It's too open here, we're bound to come across someone eventually."

"Best hope we don't," Fred muttered. He motioned Rachel to go forward, doing so himself, then he suddenly froze.

There were voices coming from the hallway that led to the Star Fort. They seemed to be discussing something very serious in a very nonchalant manner. One of the voices sounded smooth and pleasant, while the other sounded like the opposite, gruff and callous.

"Has the force left yet?" the gruff voice asked. "I ordered them out an hour ago!"

"Relax, Dionysus, they're on their way north," said the smooth voice.

"Get back!" Fred mouthed silently but aggressively. He grabbed Rachel by the hand and moved her back down the curved hallway. They pressed themselves against the inner wall, Fred simply hoping that they'd turn the other way.

"That's Dionysus!" Rachel whispered, eyes fearful. "And some other god!"

Fred placed his hand on Rachel's mouth, eyes narrowing. "If they come this way, you have to run. Get to the control room, and open the gates."

Rachel's eyes widened, but couldn't say anything because of Fred's hand.

"I'm worried, Dionysus," said the smooth voice. "Perhaps we left this fortress too underdefended."

"Relax, Hermes," Dionysus replied. "It's only a third of our forces. The rest have been ordered to the outer ring, to watch for intruders."

"Cyclopes," said Hermes with a sigh. "Not the brightest creatures. What if they miss something."

"You know what you need?"

"Wine?" Hermes asked drably.

"Yes!" Dionysus exclaimed. "Come, let's…"

Their voices faded out, which gave Fred a bit of hope. Sure enough, by the grace of the Architect's dead soul, the two had turned in the opposite direction. Fred could see their shadows receding beyond the curve of the inner ring. Boy, were they getting lucky!

"Come on," Fred whispered. "The control room is close!"

He stole down the hallway and into the Star Fort, which was empty, as all of the forces were in the outer ring.

"Fred," Rachel said suddenly. "If the gods have sent a force out, we have to warn Thursday."

"No need," Fred said airily. "Thursday already knows, as this force is responding to him."

"Responding to him? What do you mean?"

Fred smiled. His plan was working out perfectly. "Thursday struck out with a moderate force today," he explained. "I figured that the gods would send out a force to meet him."

"But that was just a diversion, so that the fortress would be emptier for us," Rachel finished. "Brilliant!"

"Thank you," said Fred. "In case you didn't think that was enough, I'm also responsible for the other forces going to the outer ring. On the way back to White Keep, I had my twenty soldiers pass close enough to the Citadel to me seen."

"And Hermes and Dionysus?"

"That was pure luck," Fred admitted. "Hey, everyone needs some. The control room is right here."

Fred stopped in front of a plain door, metallic and strong. With a tug, though, it came open. Inside was a big Cyclopes, wearing a sword at his belt. The good part…he was fast asleep. On the wall, there were pictures of what was happening all around the Citadel, a sorcerous innovation of the Upper House gifted to the Army by Saturday. Most were empty, but the ones that showed the outer ring were full of soldiers belonging to the gods.

"Some security," Fred scoffed. "If a member of the Army were like this, he'd be severely punished.

"Count us lucky," said Rachel. "Now, you said we needed to open the gates?"

Fred nodded. "Right before sunset."

"And when is that?"

"Uh, two minutes," said Fred.

"Two minutes!" Rachel exclaimed. "Hurry up!"

"I just realized something, though," said Fred sheepishly. "I don't know how to open the gates…"

"Well, maybe try the lever that says 'gates,'" Rachel pointed out, gritting her teeth. "We're down to one minute!"

"Okay! Um…" Fred searched and searched, but no lever seemed to be present. Then he saw it, written in tiny lettering. Four levers right next to each other, one for each of the rings. Without hesitation, he pulled all four of them, just as the grinding and popping noise indicated that sunset had arrived.

Suddenly, a large roar could be heard throughout the Citadel, like a large throng screaming their lungs out.

"What was that?" Rachel asked fearfully. The Cyclopes in the chair began to stir.

"Don't worry," said Fred. "That's part of the plan, too. Our part is over."

"What…" Rachel's eyes drifted to the cameras, where her eyes widened as she beheld the action at the gates. A large force, nearly all of the Army, was pouring through, led by Dawn, Noon, and Dusk. They were organized and quick, separated by division within the Army. In the front was the Horde atop their Not-Horses, followed by the Legion and Regiment, side by side. The flanks were composed of the Borderers, while the Moderately Honest Artillery Company send arrows flying up onto the outer wall.

"I thought you said Thursday led a force out?" Rachel asked in bewilderment.

"I said a moderate force," said Fred. "He'll use the Fourth Key to deal with them, while most of the Army is here, retaking an undermanned fortress."

Rachel began to grin as she realized the full extent of Fred's plan. "Fred, that's amazing! You planned all that?"

"Yes, yes I did."

* * *

The Citadel was retaken in under an hour. Hermes and Dionysus were put in chains nearly at the outset, as neither were very martial gods. Dusk administered the declaration of arrest on both, and neither struggled, to Fred's surprise. After that, most of the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones surrendered.

Fred and Rachel watched most of it from the control room, after gently tying their sleeping friend to the chair he was sitting in. Fred had really wanted to go help them in the small, battle, but Rachel insisted that they stay put in the room. After it was over, though, Fred insisted that they go meet Dawn, Noon, and Dusk, but it turned out that they found him first.

"Gold!" Noon exclaimed. His bright red hair was messy and matted with sweat, but his face was positively beaming.

"Marshal Noon, sir," Fred replied, saluting the higher-ranking soldier.

"Gold, that was the most exquisite display of tectonic strategy I have ever seen!" Noon boomed, clasping the general on the shoulder. The praise made Fred feel extremely proud, and he had to keep himself from blushing. Dusk and Dawn were less bombastic in their praise, but were no less pleased.

"Thank you, Marshals," Fred said gratefully. "I don't deserve all of the credit, though." He turned to his friend Rachel, who was standing a few feet away, off to the side. "Sometimes you can have the most complex things figured out, but forget how to do the simple things."

Then, to his own surprise, he found himself giving Rachel a respectful salute. "Miss Dare, it has been a pleasure partnering with you."

Rachel's face turned as red as her hair, but she responded with a crisp, perfect salute of her own. "Likewise, General Gold," she replied with a bright smile.


	24. The Art of War

CHAPTER 24: The Art of War

It must have been the lamest, shortest lived charge in the history of warfare. Reyna had only traveled five feet when she was knocked to the ground by a flurry of bright, white flashes. She hit the ground hard, landing on her fully armored shoulder. She felt the hard metal bounce against her shoulder when she it, causing a massive tremor to travel down her entire arm. Bewildered, she recovered as quickly as she could to see what had happened.

All around the Atrium, there were large flashes, similar to the one that had knocked Reyna down. They seemed to be causing the entire Atrium to shake, which made everyone wobble unsteadily, demigod and Denizen alike. Reyna recognized the flashes for what they were: transfers via Transfer Plate.

All around her, and all around the Atrium, new forces emerged from the flashes, forces loyal to the House. Denizens in full black body suits, black masks, and matching wings were descending on the gods' army, as were small, golden warriors. On the ground, massive beetles crawled directly toward the invaders, and supersized dragonflies dominated the air. The forces of the Middle House and Incomparable Gardens had come.

But that was not all, Reyna saw with astonishment. She looked up at Mars, and followed his angry gaze to a figure standing not two yards from where she was lying. A tall woman, with a strong jaw, set face, and black hair tied in a neat braid down her shoulder. Her armor was clean and sturdy, her spear was menacing in her right hand, and her helm seemed to glow with strength and power.

"Bellona," Mars growled, the flames in his eyes roaring. "What are you doing here, armed for war against us?"

"I received news that my daughter was in a dangerous situation, and have come to provide the necessary assistance," Bellona replied coolly. "Pluto himself went to go help his son elsewhere in this battle, and you must be mad if you think I will allow myself to be one-upped by Pluto."

The anger seemed to roll of Mars in red waves. "It seems there are many traitors to deal with today. You stand as mother and daughter, you will perish as mother and daughter."

"You see, Mars," Bellona continued, twirling the spear in her hand, "I do not come to her assistance simply because she is my daughter. I come because she, out of all these Roman demigods, has remembered how war is supposed to be waged."

"You think you know war?" Mars bellowed. "I am the true god of war, imposter! War is about defeating your enemies soundly and mercilessly!"

Bellona laughed, a deep, booming laugh. "You know nothing, Mars. Your kind of war would leave millions dead and no result, endless bloodshed with no resolution. War is supposed to be just, only fought for good and worthy causes, and never unnecessarily. And knowing _when_ to wage war is just as important as knowing how."

Suddenly Reyna was enveloped by a warm glow, and she was no longer on the ground, but was standing on her feet, upright. She felt renewed vigor, all of her strength at her fingertips, and then some. This ethereal glow continued to surround her even after she had stood, and extended to the armor around her, and to the shield in her hand.

"This is your final choice, Romans," Bellona said, directly to the Legion, and to its praetor, Frank. "Your war gods have chosen their sides, and they stand opposed."

"Enough talk," Mars growled. He expertly twirled the sharp spear in his hand and pointed it at Reyna and her mother. "I will face the two of you at once, if I have to."

"The three of us," interjected a voice. Reyna's level of confidence had skyrocketed at the appearance of her mother, but now it went even higher as her sister stood to Bellona's other side. "I have made my choice. I will fight with my family." She turned to Reyna and gave her a firm nod, which Reyna returned.

"Three then," Mars retorted. "A junior war goddess, a disgraced praetor, and the Queen of the Amazons, my honorary daughters, who I declare removed from office."

Hylla stood unfazed, and glared Mars in the face, ready and unintimidated.

Suddenly mars struck, flinging the spear from his hand with startling accuracy and deadly speed. It went straight at Reyna's head, until Bellona maneuvered her spear to knock the projectile out of the air. A new spear instantly materialized in Mars's hand, and the war god bellowed and charged at his three opponents.

Bellona motioned with her head, and her two daughters immediately understood the plan. Bellona rushed out to meet Mars's charge, and Reyna and Hylla took the right and left flank, respectively. Mars didn't miss that, though, as he simultaneously deflected Bellona's spear while sticking out his legs to trip Reyna and Hylla up. Reyna mostly dodged the blow, but Mars's foot clipped Reyna's side, pushing her back a bit.

Reyna paused for a split second, taking in her surroundings. Bellona's aura still surrounded her, increasing her strength, agility, endurance, and senses. She saw that a similar glow surrounded Hylla, who was using it to boost her superior fighting skills. Reyna rejoined the battle, aiming a thrust of her spear to Mars's midsection.

Mars dodged aside, but even he couldn't last terribly long facing three opponents, including one goddess. Reyna found that Mars was backpedaling, going on defense more than on offense. Every time her committed to defending one side, he left himself open on the other, all while having to deal with Bellona's onslaught face to face.

Suddenly, a smirk appeared on Mars's face. Reyna attempted to stab Mars with her spear, but Mars blocked it, and locked the two spears together. Using that as leverage, he sent an arching kick at his opponent, knocking them back a few feet, thus giving himself space. Before the three could charge back at him, he spread his hands, and began to glow red.

From the Front Door, atop Doorstop Hill, five skeleton-warriors came flying forth, the spirits of soldiers from losing armies, bound to serve Mars for all eternity. They formed up in front of him, uniforms tattered, but fresh swords barred and ready to battle.

 _Can't get a break, can we_. Reyna simply gritted her teeth and engaged the skeletons in battle.

Bellona finished off two of the skeletons with no issue, as no mere skeleton could hope to face a god. She had already moved on to her third, while Reyna and Hylla were working on the others. The skeletons were experiences soldiers who had fought in some war or another, but death had taken its toll on their strength and wits.

After a few seconds of sparring, Reyna landed a jab of her spear into her opponent's ribcage. She slashed upwards, shattering bone after bone, which caused the skeleton to hunch over. She removed her spear, and next stab had the spear buried in the skeleton's skull. It ceased moving.

"You always were a cheat, Mars," said Bellona, looking at her daughters' handiwork. "Unfortunately, cheating will not avail you today."

"It seems not," said Mars, his face contorting in a familiar expression of rage. Gripping his spear with a grip tighter than a noose, he bellowed a powerful, twisted war cry, and charged straight forward to renew the fight.

He never got there. A golden burst of light flew through the air and knocked Mars straight to the ground. The almighty god of war, brought low in a single, golden instant.

"Looks like you're finished, Ares," Arthur Penhaligon declared. He was surrounded by a bright nimbus of light, looking more like a powerful ruler than a thirteen-year-old boy. He was dressed for battle, in a dark and commanding uniform. The look on his face was even, yet condescending, like a lord bringing a vassal to heel. In his hands, the Third Key glowed with raw power.

"I am never finished!" Mars cried back, spittle flying from his lips. He was clearly crazed, any ounce of reason and sanity in his being utterly gone. "I am war! War is eternal!"

"You have caused many wars in your existence," Arthur continued, stepping forward. Mars tried to stand, but a golden light knocked him down again, and forced him to his knees. "You will cause wars no longer."

"You tell him, Arthur!" yelled Suzy Blue, suddenly materializing at Reyna's side.

"You are all fools!" Mars bellowed. "I cannot be defeated at my own game!"

"War might be your game," said Arthur, "but justice is mine."

"Yah!" Mars screamed wildly in an attempt to jump at Arthur. Instantly, the golden light surrounded him, and he tripped and fell on his face. He got up, but Reyna was on his instantly. She jabbed the butt of her spear into his shoulder, sending him careening aside. Bellona then followed with a swipe of her spear, scratching the war god on the side. Golden ichor, the blood of the gods, poured from the wound. Mars fell on his back, gasping in pain. Hylla moved in, pinning one arm to the ground. Suzy pinned the other. And, for good measure, Arthur put one foot on Mars's chest, a look of disgust on his face.

Mars tried to thrash, Mars tried to free himself, but the five of them had finished him soundly. He was unable to move at all, trapped in the grasp of Arthur, Suzy, and Hylla. Only a slight tremoring on Mars's part showed that he was trying to break free. He was completely and utterly defeated.

"Would you like the honor, Reyna?" Arthur asked. In his hand was a familiar chain.

Reyna stepped forward, professionally and regally. She took the chain in her hand, the blue glow faded but strong. She touched it to Mars's forehead, letting it sit there, letting him feel the power.

 _"_ _In the name of the Architect I find you, in the chain of the Old One I bind you!"_

The familiar blue light enveloped Mars, causing him to tremor a little more fiercely. In no time at all, Mars was chained.

"I, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, in the name of the New Architect, wielder of the Keys to the Kingdom and Master of the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Incomparable Gardens, the Border Sea, and the Secondary Realms, hereby arrest you, the god Ares, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. You will be brought to the House and held in custody until your trial, where your guilt or innocence will be determined before the Court of Days."

"And that's, that!" Suzy followed, leering at Mars, whose face was full of silent contempt. She and Hylla had let go of the arms, and Arthur had stepped down from Mars's chest. He was smiling now, looking a lot more like himself than he had before. Suzy was smiling as well, Hylla looked relieved, and Bellona, the war goddess, had a strangely peaceful look on her face.

"Well," she said, looking at her daughter, "it looks like you've finally completed your quest."

"What do you…" Reyna stopped herself, and looked around. The forces of the Middle House and Incomparable Gardens had completely overwhelmed the forces of the gods, and if that wasn't enough, the forces from the Great Maze, Upper House, and Border Sea had joined them via the reopened elevators. Friday was sparring with the goddess Juno using the Fifth Key, and she was winning, overwhelming Juno with her power.

As for Jupiter himself, he was in more trouble. Not only had Sunday, with the Seventh Key, joined Monday in the battle against the king of the gods, The New Architect had joined as well. Wielding the Fourth and Sixth keys, along with the First and Seventh from Monday and Sunday, Jupiter did not stand a chance. He was completely surrounded, and four of the seven Keys were set against him.

Suddenly, a white beam shot out from the Fourth Key, wrapping itself around Jupiter and rendering him completely motionless. A thunderclap shook the air as he fell to his knees and bellowed in outrage, but he was done. He was king of the world no longer.

"Yes, mother," Reyna said. "It is done."

She looked around, at the entire battle scene. There was a sea of people present, as six of the seven demesnes' forces were located in the same place, not to mention another entire army. Already the wounded were being treated, no matter the side. Wednesday and Saturday were striding toward Doorstop Hill from one side, Thursday from another. Friday was working on putting Juno in bounds, while Art was working on Jupiter's. There was an immense sense of relief in the Atrium, as the battle had taken place without too many casualties. Reyna joined them in their relief.

Her eyes turned upon the Roman Legion, and her sense of relief faded when she looked at them. They were staring around in complete shock. There were nervous glances toward Doorstop Hill, where Jupiter and Juno were bound, but most of the shock was directed toward the chained war god at their feet, and toward the five who had done it.

Reyna felt a flash of concern, and the tiniest bit of guilt when she saw their faces. She had a large part to do with that shock, the shock at their world being completely overturned in the matter of ten days. Frank, the great praetor, suddenly looked like a child again. Hazel, usually so steady, looked like she saw her own ghost. And Jason, the golden hero of Olympus, was staring down at his own hands. This was his first time failing at a quest.

"Ho! Reyna!" called a familiar, direct voice. Suzy and Arthur were trooping toward her, eyes shining. That snapped Reyna out of her trance, and she turned toward them warmly.

"So, we've finished," she said slowly.

"Sure did," said Suzy.

"Got all twelve rounded up," Arthur added. "Nice and easy."

Reyna nodded. "You know, I never thought I'd be standing on the field of victory with two twelve-year-old kids."

"Hey! I'm thirteen, you know!" Arthur protested.

Reyna smiled and shook Arthur's hand, followed by Suzy's. "It has been a pleasure questing with you two," she said warmly.

"Likewise," Arthur replied. "Now, shall we finish things up?" He gestured toward Mars.

"Gladly."

With Mars's chain in hand, Reyna started toward Doorstop Hill, along with Arthur, Suzy, her mom, and her sister, leaving her former legion behind.

* * *

"And that wraps things up quite nicely," Art said upon their arrival. Next to him, Zeus and Hera were sitting silently on the ground, with matching glowers on their faces. The present Morrow Days were assembled behind him, and had surrendered their Keys back to Art.

Arthur himself still bore the Third Key, which hung at his belt. Next to him was Reyna, leading Ares with the Old One's chain. Her mother, Bellona, and her sister were beside the former praetor. Suzy was to Arthur's other side, skipping along full of energy. It felt strange, having an old friend to one side and a new one to the other, but comforting as well.

"I guess it does," Arthur replied to Art. "I'm glad to see you've already begun treating the wounded."

"Of course I have," Art replied immediately. "I'm not as low and horrible as these gods beside me."

Reyna led Ares to where Zeus and Hera were situated and left him there. The war god took on the looks of his parents, angry and silent.

"Where are the other gods?" Arthur asked.

"In custody," Art replied. "Apollo, Aphrodite, and Athena are still where we put them, and Demeter wanders the Elysium safely. Poseidon has been defeated by Wednesday and Saturday in the Border Sea, while Hephaestus was overcome by your friend, Sunscorch, with some assistance from Miss Leaf and Mr. Nico. General Fred Gold and Rachel Dare helped retake the Citadel, where Noon arrested Hermes and Dionysus, while Thursday defeated Artemis in one-on-one combat. The gods are all defeated."

Zeus responded to that by spitting at Art's foot, which Art pointedly ignored.

"Soon we will begin the trials," he continued. "It will be a fair trial, too. The gods will have the right to defend themselves and call their own witnesses. I will be prosecuting, the jury will be composed of twelve randomly selected Denizens, and the seven Days will preside over the trial, after taking oaths of impartiality on their Keys."

"What about the rest?" Reyna asked intently. "What about the demigods and Cyclopes and all?"

"I believe we have already come to terms with this, Miss Reyna," Art replied, perhaps slightly impatient. "I agreed we would not punish the demigods. They are free to return to Earth whenever they wish. As part of our agreement, the two camps will remain intact, though no more godly magic will remain in them. As for the creatures…as I said, all remnants of mythology will fade from Earth, and they will fade with it, unless they decide to remain in the House."

"Will you let them?" Reyna followed.

Art sighed. "I suppose I can. They will be assigned permanent jobs, though, like any other Denizen of the House."

"Done," said Reyna.

"It will be good for the House, I think," Art continued, as if talking to himself. "That centaur, Chiron, has already bonded with many of the Upper House healers in their attempts to treat the wounded. And those Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones are very strong indeed."

"They are expert craftsmen," Bellona spoke up. "They have always been renown for their skills in craft and forgery."

"They shall be assigned to Grim Tuesday, then," Art declared. Then, a sudden frown marred his otherwise pleased face. "Where is Grim Tuesday, anyhow?"

The six Morrow Days present all looked at each other, all of them now worried. Art turned back to them, a concerned look on his face.

"I thought he went to check out the Far Reaches," said Suzy.

"He did," said Art softly. "He took the Second Key with him." Art looked down at his hands, and saw that the gloves of the Second Key were not on them.

Suddenly the entire Atrium shook violently, causing screams of fear to break out all over. Reyna and Hylla lost their balance, tumbling onto their backs, while Arthur and Suzy nearly lost theirs as well. The worried looks on the Days' faces deepened, and Art's eyes narrowed in seriousness.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked, a bit fearfully.

Art's face looked grave. "It's Nothing," he replied. "The entire House is in danger of being destroyed."


	25. Entropy

CHAPTER 25: Entropy

"How could this have happened?" Sunday asked, pacing the grass of Doorstop Hill.

"I'll tell you how!" Art exclaimed angrily. "These gods, engrossed in blinding stupidity, decided to use Nothing to poke holes in the House in order to invade! This seriously weakened the structure of the House, putting it in a very unstable situation. With the Void pressing on the House, a weakened structure was all it needed to break in!"

"I thought you said this happened every now and then!" Suzy exclaimed. "You said the Void sometimes presses on the House and that everything will be fine!"

"And that is usually the case!" Art shot back. "Usually the House is strong enough to hold the Nothing back, with a little help from the Keys. When the House has holes poked into it, however, that changes the situation quite drastically!" He sent a glare of pure anger in Zeus's direction, a glare so daunting that even he flinched.

"We're wasting time," Arthur said quickly as another rumble shook the room. "Grim Tuesday is using all his power to hold the Nothing back. If we don't get to the Far Reaches soon then they'll be gone, and it won't be long before the Lower House goes too."

"You're right, Arthur," Art agreed. "Wait a minute, we?"

"You heard me," said Arthur. "I'm going with you."

"No way!" Suzy exclaimed, but Art merely grimaced and nodded.

"If that is what you want to do, I will not stop you," the New Architect stated. "Now, let's get going."

"No, it's too dangerous," Reyna insisted. She strode across the hill and stood before Arthur, blocking his path. "You'll get yourself killed."

Arthur laughed mirthlessly. "It wouldn't be the first time." He stepped around Reyna and went to join Art. Suzy tugged strongly on his arm, pulling him back, but he slipped away from her grasp and continued walking.

Art had the Fifth Key in his hand, its mirror shining. He had possession of the other Keys as well. The First Key hung from his belt, the Fourth Key was strapped to his back, the Sixth Key was in a pocket on his chest, and the Seventh was on a golden chain around his neck. Arthur held the Third Key in his hand, and the Second Key, of course, was still with Grim Tuesday.

"Are you sure you wish to join me?" Art asked one final time.

"You need someone else with you," Arthur replied. "The answer is yes."

"Then let us go."

Art stepped to Arthur's side and held the Fifth Key toward them. At first the mirror showed a reflection of the two of them, but then it began to glow. The scene shifted, and soon it showed the Far Reaches, with a lot more black substance in it than usual. Soon the scene began to move toward them, and they were stepping through, into the Far Reaches and the danger they held.

* * *

It was worse than Arthur expected. What he expected was to see a large burst of Nothing spilling from the floor, expanding slowly across the green grass of the Far Reaches toward the various settlements that existed there. The Far Reaches was actually a pleasant place once rid of the gaping Pit, with a small fountain of Nothing and buildings sprawled out over a plain. Arthur simple expected to see the Nothing encroaching and swallowing that.

Instead, there was no floor at all, no settlements and no buildings. What was there was a huge sea of Nothing that was rising slowly toward the ceiling of the Far Reaches. Art and Arthur were floating above the Nothing using the power of their Keys, which was good, because Arthur did not have any wings, and would have otherwise fallen to his demise.

"The Nothing has moved fast," Art said over the roar of the Nothing. "We've lost more of the Far Reaches than I expected. We must hurry!"

Arthur gazed over the nothing and saw a figure flying in the distance, a silver glow about him.

"I found Grim Tuesday!" Arthur called to Art. Art's reply was to speed over to him, with Arthur on his tail.

Grim Tuesday did not look good. His usually handsome face was twisted and strained in concentration. A scar ran down his cheek, definitely the result of Nothing. His grey wings were fluttering furiously, keeping Tuesday from falling. He was wearing the gloves of the Second Key, which were glowing with a silver light. If it weren't for him, Arthur saw, the Far Reaches would have been gone a long time ago.

"Tuesday!" Art called when he reached him. "We've come to help!"

Tuesday barely spared them a glance, which was all he could afford to do. "I sure could use it," he said gruffly. "I'm barely containing it, and even at that it is still creeping upward."

"What of the Denizens here?" Arthur asked concernedly. "How many…"

"Most survived," Tuesday replied through a hard grimace. He was gritting his teeth, trying to muster all the strength he could to keep the Nothing down. "I went to check for signs of the enemy. When I saw that they were not here, I sent most of my Denizens up to go help out wherever needed. Only a few were still in the Far Reaches when the Nothing broke through."

"It's a good thing you were still down here," said Art.

"I almost wasn't," Tuesday admitted. "I was about to come myself to help against the invaders when the Nothing came."

"I'm glad most of the Denizens—"

"Arggh!" Tuesday screamed in stress. Veins began popping up at his temples and on his hands.

Arthur immediately put the Third Key to work, helping Tuesday out against the Nothing. Art was doing the same, using the combined power of five Keys. All three were encased in the usual nimbus of light that came with wielding the Keys, and the Nothing's pace was reduced to a slow crawl.

"Thank you," said Tuesday, able to talk a bit more normally now that he was doing seven times less work than before.

"We can't hold this forever," Art pointed out. He was doing five-sevenths of the work to keep the nothing down, so there was more pressure and stress on him than on Arthur or Tuesday. "We need to think of a solution!"

"What solution?" Tuesday countered. "We cannot stop this or force it back down!"

Arthur wracked his brain, trying to think of a solution. He had dealt with Nothing before, many times. The only time he remembered facing the void itself was outside Monday's Dayroom, and he had created a golden net to keep the Nothing back, though it was only temporary. Something else nagged at him though, something that had been nagging at him since they got to the Far Reaches, but he couldn't put a finger on it, at least not while concentrating on the wave of Nothing below him.

"We need to create a golden net," Arthur called out. "Like I did that last time!"

Tuesday had no idea what he was talking about, but Art did. "That net lasted a very short time!" he called back. "It only gave you…or, us, I guess, about forty-five seconds!"

"That was with one Key," Arthur pointed out. "We have all seven Keys between the three of us. A golden net created from all seven should give us a few minutes to think of a permanent solution!"

"It's the best option," said Tuesday. Not wanting to argue about it any longer, the glow around his hands switched from silver to gold.

Arthur joined him, following the exact same procedure as last time. He gripped the Third Key tightly, feeling its power. He imagined a golden net being formed, but this time it wasn't from his Key alone. He imagined the power of all seven keys melding together, joining forces for a single purpose.

Suddenly, thin, golden strings of light shot out from the Third Key, heading toward the Nothing below. At the same time, similar strings flew downward from where Tuesday and Art were situated, with the most coming from Art. Right above the Nothing the strings joined together, weaving themselves tighter and tighter, until they formed the desired net. The net pressed down on the Nothing, and it stopped moving upward, for the moment.

"That should give us a few precious moments," Art stated. He was slightly out of breath, but tried not to show it. "You have your time," he told Arthur, "do you have a solution?"

Arthur didn't reply, but immediately went back to thinking. He could still feel that thought nagging at him, but was still unable to wrest it from his mind. It had something to do with the Far Reaches, he figured, since the nagging had started when he arrived. He knew it had to do with a Key, too, since any solution to this problem involved them. The Key belonging to the Far Reaches was the Second Key. The Second Key was composed of two gloves, working gloves, which Tuesday used to craft things…

Arthur looked at the gloves, those silver gloves lined with gold, and the memory immediately resurfaced. He remembered the crafting competition with Grim Tuesday in his Pyramid, the competition to determine who would become the Lord of the Far Reaches and owner of the Second Key. Both he and Tuesday crafted different things, objects made from Nothing.

"Well?" Art asked, arms folded. He was growing impatient, and for good reason. That net wouldn't last forever.

"Yes, I have a potential solution," Arthur said quickly. "Nothing, it destroys the House and everything other part of Creation, but it was also used to create everything in the first place. Through the power of the Keys, Nothing can be shaped and can be turned into actual things."

"Yes," said Tuesday, his eyes slightly widening.

"We can't simply banish all of this Nothing back to the Void," Arthur continued. "It's too much, and is part of the Void already. We can't force it back down, even the Keys aren't that powerful. But maybe we can shape it, and turn it into something else."

"Like what?" asked Art.

"Like the new floor of the Far Reaches," Arthur finished. "The foundations of the House are gone, so we need to rebuild them, and we have all the Nothing we need right here. We start with a strong, thick base of Immaterial concrete, and then on top of that we can put the usual plain, with an opening for the fountain, which will supply enough Nothing to recreate the buildings and whatnot."

Art frowned, of course. _There can never be a day when everyone just accepts my solutions without a problem, can there_ , Arthur thought.

Tuesday, though, wasn't having it. "What are we waiting for?" he said.

"I am not sure whether or not to go through with this plan," Art replied, brows furrowed.

At that moment, a sudden snapping sound could be heard. Everyone glanced downward to see that one of the strings of the net had snapped, and the rest were not far behind.

"Are you sure now?" Tuesday followed. "We have to hurry!" He dove downward, straight toward the concentration of Nothing.

Art sighed, and beckoned him to follow down to where Tuesday was.

Already, more of the strings that composed the net had snapped, their looks ends dangling in the air. The Nothing beneath was pushing upward, barely contained. It looked ready to burst forth, past the net that held it. If it did so, then the three of them would be killed instantaneously.

"A base of Immaterial concrete," said Arthur. "That's what we need to start with, something that will hold the Nothing back for a long, long time."

No one argued, so Arthur closed his eyes, holding the Third Key in his hand. Similar to before, he imagined the power of all seven Keys joining together, but this time for a different purpose. This time, the combined power formed together and infested the great sea of Nothing below, using it, forming it into a strong, durable substance. Immaterial concrete.

Arthur, Art, and Tuesday began to glow. Below them, a large area of the Nothing curdled, and began to take shape. A plain of Immaterial concrete was formed, and it began to spread outward, more Nothing being organized and turned into the hard substance that contained the Nothing below it. Arthur's plan was working.

"Ah!" Arthur grunted loudly, a shock of pain crawling up his spine. The concrete stopped spreading outward, and began to shrink, as the Nothing began to take over again. For Nothing was random and chaotic by nature, and always sought to return to that state of being, resisting all forms of organization. _Just like the chemistry saying_ , Arthur thought through the pain. _Entropy always wins_.

"Hold it, Arthur!" Art encouraged. His face was mildly contorted in concentration, with Tuesday's being mildly more so. Arthur tried to heed Art's word, and redoubled his efforts. The concrete patch stopped shrinking, and slowly, ever so slowly, began to grow again. Arthur grunted again, pouring all of his strength into the concrete below.

He had to succeed, he knew. He couldn't fail, so many lives were at stake. If he didn't build that concrete, millions of Denizens would all perish, not to mention his dear friends. Even worse, if the House was destroyed, the entire Universe would go with it. All of the Secondary Realms, all of the people on them, would be destroyed. The humans of Earth, his dad, his siblings, all gone.

A hot anger began to burn within him. He would not fail everyone, not again. He would not fail his family and friends like he failed his mother, Emily. And he did not just put his life in danger bringing an end to the gods just to have the world get destroyed anyway.

Arthur shouted, a determined shout that seemed to shake the Nothing below into obedience. The Immaterial concrete spread out in a solid wave, stretching to every end of the Far Reaches, and becoming its new base. A thin layer of Nothing still existed on top, but the entire Void below was contained beneath the new protective layer.

With a shudder, Arthur stopped the flow of power from the Key. He began to gulp deep breaths, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. Looking below him, he saw that his plan had succeeded, and smiled in relief. He was tired, he was worn, but he had been successful.

Art came gliding over to him. "I should not have agreed to let you come," he said with a frown. "Such an effort could have killed you, as you are not a Denizen."

"But it didn't," Arthur pointed out. "And my plan worked."

Art's frown shifted to a small smile. "Yes, indeed it did."

Below them, Grim Tuesday, though not so grim now, was forming the thin layer of Nothing atop the Immaterial concrete into a grassy plain that spread out over the concrete, thus nearly returning the Far Reaches to their proper form. Art then finished the job by using the power of the Keys to poke a small hole in the floor, thus reforming the fountain of Nothing. It was contained Nothing, though, that receded back through the floor instead of destroying anything.

Arthur sighed. "I'd save the Universe more often if it wasn't so life-threatening."

Art smiled. "You are a hero, Arthur, several times over."

"That I am not," Arthur replied firmly. "I just do whatever needs to be done."

"Very well," said Art. "Still, the House owes you a great debt."

"Speaking of what needs to be done," Tuesday said, flying up to them, "what do we do next?"

Art's smile turned back into a frown in an instant. "Now, we return the Denizens of the Far Reaches back here, and begin reconstruction. The Far Reaches were nearly completely destroyed, so it will take a lot of work."

"And?" Arthur asked, sensing he was not done.

Art turned to him. "And then we put the gods responsible for this on trial, and bring them to justice."


	26. Pretrial

PART FOUR: PROSECUTION

CHAPTER 26: Pretrial

The courtroom was full to the brim with Denizens. Extra benches were brought it, to accommodate the crowd that had come to watch the trial. Denizens from all corners of the House, from every demesne, had shown up to view the proceedings. They were dressed as fancy as they could manage, for this was a very important occasion. It was the busiest Suzy had ever seen the Court of Days.

The courtroom had been modified for the trial, with two desks being set up side by side, facing the judge's bench. Both were empty, but Suzy knew who the occupants would be. On one side would be Art, who would be prosecuting the gods, and on the other desk would be whichever god was defending him or herself at the time. The judge's bench was really a large panel with seven chairs, which would be occupied by the Morrow Days when the time came. To the side, in their usual place, were the Dawns, Noons, and Dusks, dressed in very fancy clothing. To the other side were twelve ordinary Denizens, the jury.

Suzy watched all of this though a crack in the door of Art's office, where several people were assembled. Art was at his desk, looking grim but determined. Before him stood all of the Morrow Days, who were each taking turns swearing oaths of neutrality and impartiality on their demesne's Key. Watching the proceedings were Suzy and her six friends, who were honored guests of the prosecution. Whatever that meant.

"Do you, Lord Sunday, Master of the Incomparable Gardens, swear upon the Seventh Key to be neutral in the upcoming trial?" Art said.

Sunday, with his hand on the Seventh Key, nodded his head. "This I swear."

Art nodded. "That's the last of it," he said.

"Not that it matters," Sunday added, a little late. "We could be partial in favor of the gods and they'll still lose this trial."

"That's for the jury to decide," said Wednesday, a bit stern. "But yes, you're right."

Suzy rolled her eyes. She had no idea what all of this legal stuff meant, and she was a bit miffed that she had to attend this trial in the first place. Regular meetings didn't exactly entertain her, and trials were worse. _Eh, I'll probably only need to sit through the first hour or so. Hopefully_.

"Now," said Art, "as the prosecutor, I am obligated to inform you judges of certain things pertaining to the trial. You already know most of them, but I must say so anyway, as a matter of record."

"You may proceed," said Sunday.

Art nodded. "First, the charges. I have arrested twelve gods on the count of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation. They are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus. They will share a single trial and a single jury, but their verdicts will be independent of one another. I will prosecute them in alphabetical order."

"And how long is this trial supposed to last?" asked Saturday.

"Given the number of witnesses and the length of their testimonies, about a fortnight," Art replied.

Suzy's jaw dropped open. "A fortnight!"

"Miss Blue!" Art chided. "This is formal business."

"I ain't staying in that courtroom for a fortnight!"

"You don't have to," said Art. "It's a courtroom, not a prison. Come and go as you wish."

"Oh," Suzy drew back in surprise. "Very well, carry on."

"Thank you for your permission, Miss Blue," Art replied dryly. "Back to business. The trial will last around a fortnight. These gods have been around for millennia, and each of their acts must be examined through testimony in order to build a proper case."

"Very well," said Sunday. "The trial will begin in ten minutes. The first god on your list will be brought in promptly."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. As the New Architect's assistant, it was Suzy's job to answer it. Ignoring the conversation between Art and the Days, Suzy went to the door and swung it open.

"The New Architect isn't available," she said automatically. Then she looked to see who it was.

At the door was a tall, strange figure that Suzy vaguely remembered seeing on the field of battle. From the waist up, he was a muscular man. Below the waist and down, he had the body of a horse. A Cent Tower, Arthur had called them, or something like that, and this was their leader. Behind him were seven mortals, who Suzy recognized as the seven she had met outside the Front Door in that big city with the park.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you lot want?"

"We wish to speak with the New Architect," said the man horse in a deep, wise voice. "It is urgent that we speak with him, please, young one."

"Actually, I'm a couple thousand years old," Suzy corrected. She turned to Art, who had now ceased his conversation and was staring at the door.

"Who is it, Miss Blue?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"It's the gods' posse," Suzy replied. "Should I let 'em in?"

Art hesitated, unsure of what to do. Then he nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"In you go," Suzy instructed, stepping aside to let them pass. This they did, though at different paces. The man horse strode in perfectly, exactly as he should have. He showed a strong front, to show that he wasn't too cowardly or meek, but at the same time he knew he was a supplicant, and so did not appear too haughty.

The seven teenagers walked much slower, looking around the room with uncomfortable glances. At their head, trying to look confident, was a blonde boy and a boy with really dark hair and green eyes. The rest followed right behind, sticking to a group. There was a large boy with a purple cloak, a small girl with dark skin and caramel hair, a taller girl with dark hair and a pretty face, a girl with grey eyes and bright hair, and a runty boy with curly hair and a devilish expression. Suzy noticed that they would not look in the direction of Suzy and her friends, not would Reyna, Nico, or Rachel meet their eyes.

Suzy scoffed. She was glad that she never had to put up with people like that. Especially since they took her top hat.

"What can I do for you, Chiron?" Art asked, voice emotionless and icy.

"We have something to ask of you," the man horse, Chiron, replied in a soft voice. "Please, just hear our plea."

"Our?" Art scoffed. "Chiron, it is only because of your presence that I am even listening at all. I know what these seven did, they procured the Nothing from the Void and used it to poke holes in the House! If it wasn't for the deal I made with Miss Ramirez-Arellano, Mr. di Angelo, and Miss Dare, I'd be prosecuting them, too!"

"We didn't know," said the blonde boy softly. His voice broke, and his confidence was non-existent.

"Didn't know?" Art seethed. "You could have destroyed the whole Universe and everything in it! You decided to deal in something you know nothing of because those heathen gods told you to do so!"

Jason and the others remained silent, each of them carrying a guilty face. The girl with the dark skin even looked like she was about to start crying.

"Art, please," Reyna said softly.

Art took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Please excuse my lack of composure," he continued, much calmer. "What is your request, centaur?"

"My request…" Chiron trailed off. "I know that the gods have committed grave sins. They are hardly perfect—"

"Hardly perfect doesn't describe it," Art interjected quietly.

"Anyway," said Chiron. "I humbly ask that you grant them mercy, on behalf of all of the good things I have done for Earth."

Art spread his hands, clearly indicating what his answer was. "How can I grant such a request?"

"It seems he is asking for a deal," Sunday pointed out.

"I am," Chiron confirmed. "I am not asking that the gods completely escape punishment, I am asking merely that their punishment not be too harsh."

"Their punishment shall fit whatever crimes they are found guilty of," Art replied simply. "They will not be destroyed, if that's what you fear."

"Please," Chiron insisted, begged even. "I will have them plead guilty of all crimes if you lessen their sentence."

Suzy looked at him. His face was calm and serene, but she could clearly see the desperation in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking, it was one of the things she was good at. She could tell that he knew that certain gods had a high chance of being guilty, and wanted to get out of the trial by making a deal.

She had also worked with Art for a long time, and knew how to get his attention. With a small, unnoticeable flick of the head, Suzy signaled Art, whose eyes flicked toward her. In that instant, Suzy shook her head slowly. Art nodded in reply.

"No deal," Art said softly. "This matter will go to trial."

Chiron looked slightly defeated, but drew up to a respectable height. "Very well," he said softly. "You should know that the gods have commanded me to be their trial lawyer, and I have accepted."

"And therein lies the difference between the gods and us," Art replied. "I never command anyone to do anything, unless they chose to accept my command out of free will. I'll see you in court."

Chiron clipped out of the room, the seven demigods following him looking quite upset, and still guilty. Suzy closed the door behind them.

"Well," she said, "that was a doozy."

"Tell me about it," Art muttered. "Why did you advise me to refuse?"

"Coz I knew what he was doing," Suzy replied casually. "He was trying to squiggle his way out of a trial, coz he knew the gods would be found guilty."

"Chiron is smart," Rachel warned suddenly. "I could see him being a good trial lawyer."

"It doesn't matter," Art replied confidently. "The evidence against them is overwhelming. And I happen to be smart too, Miss Dare."

Rachel blushed, mumbling a hurried apology.

"I believe it is time to fetch out papers for the trial," said Sunday. "We'll see you in the courtroom, Art." He and the other Morrow Days left the room.

"Boy," Arthur said once they were gone. "You really chewed them out, didn't you, Art."

Art sighed. "Yes, perhaps unwisely."

"They deserved it," said Nico with venom. His eyes suddenly were afire with anger. "They've acted worse than scum lately."

"Nico!" Rachel exclaimed. "They were your friends, once."

"Maybe," Nico replied quietly. Then he looked Rachel in the eye. "Did you know Annabeth stabbed me in the calf, Rachel? With no remorse at all, she just did it. And Percy…" his voice broke. "Percy just stood over me, and then left me there."

Rachel's face turned to horror. "I—I didn't know."

"And that other kid," Leaf spat, "the one with the curly hair. He tricked me, tricked me cold, into getting captured by Hephaestus, who nearly killed me!"

"Not to mention their actions nearly got all of us killed," Arthur pointed out. "Especially me."

Suzy didn't speak, but she saw Reyna get increasingly uncomfortable.

"Enough," said a surprising voice. It was not Reyna, nor Rachel, but Art, the one who gave the demigods the toughest rebuke of all.

"You don't think they did bad things?" Suzy asked him.

"Of course I do," Art replied. "They did awful things, but it wasn't their fault, truly. They were so loyal to the gods, so attached. I know what they'd been through, they risked their lives for the gods aboard a floating ship. They were the main heroes of the gods, and were so entrenched in them. That led to their blind loyalty, and willingness to do whatever they wanted."

"How do you know all that?" Reyna asked quietly, slightly in shock.

"I watched them," Art replied. "I watched the entire war with that earth monster, Gaea, the one my predecessor raised to godhood. What those seven went through turned them into what they are. They are slightly at fault for bad judgement, but who can truly blame them for their attachment to the gods?"

Everyone remained silent, pondering that statement. Deep within, Suzy felt a sense of pride. She was never blindingly loyal, she had never followed commands just because they were commands. She did whatever she wanted, whatever she felt was right. That had always been her style, and it felt good to hear Art praise that kind of thinking.

"Also," Art continued slowly, "it's why I decided not to choose them, in the end."

A wave of confusion passed over the group. "What?" asked Fred, the usually silent Fred.

Art smiled. "Why do you think I watched the war with Gaea? I needed some of the demigods to join the campaign against the gods, as they had knowledge that would prove crucial to the arrest of the Olympians. So I looked, and searched, trying to find the bravest, strongest, most capable demigods I could get.

"My eye initially landed on those seven. They seemed like the stuff of mythological legend, flying aboard a magic ship, fighting monsters daily to save the world from destruction. I thought that they were the perfect ones, the shining heroes in golden armor, ready to fight for justice.

"But then I noticed what I see clearly in them now, blind faithfulness to the Olympians. I was about to choose them, was about to transform one of their objects into a Transfer Plate that would send them up to the House, but then I stopped. I didn't want blind loyalty to the gods. Strength and bravery were great, but they could be found in many. What I needed were clear minds, ones that would do what is truly right, ones that would fight to do good for the world, not just for the gods."

Art turned toward Rachel, Reyna, and Nico. "I found you three. Reyna, with her unwavering sense of justice. Nico, who had been through so much struggle and wanted to see some change in the world. Rachel, with her pure, good heart. That was what I wanted, I realized. Your strength and bravery were just an added bonus. It was your independence, and goodness, that truly made you the right choice."

By the end of Art's little speech, Reyna, Nico, and Rachel's jaws had dropped. They were in complete shock at the honor Art had shown them, at the immense praise that had been bestowed upon them.

"And how could I forget the long-time friends of the House?" Art said through a smile. "Arthur, Suzy, Leaf, and Fred, I thank you for your continued support."

"Your welcome," Suzy replied immediately, causing everyone to laugh.

"Art," Reyna spoke up. "Thank you, for everything,"

"For what?" Art asked, curious.

"For helping me find my place," Reyna replied. "For helping us find our place. We thought we had it before, but you showed us the true path."

"Agreed," said Rachel with a grin. Nico nodded as well.

"I'm glad I could do so," Art replied softly.

"Alright," said Suzy. "I've had enough thanks for one day. Can we get this trial over with?"

"Yes," said Art firmly. "You seven have worked hard, and now it is time for you to see the fruits of your labor. It is time to bring these gods to the justice they deserve. Let the trial begin."


	27. Testimony

CHAPTER 27: Testimony

"We will now begin the trial in the matter of _The House v The Gods of Olympus_ ," Lord Sunday announced, sitting in the center of the judges' panel. "Let the first defendant be brought in."

Nico watched in anticipation as the trial officially got underway. He knew that the whole ordeal would take quite some time, so he decided he would watch for the first few minutes and then leave. Everyone in the courtroom was silent, the Denizens on the benches behind him, the jury, the judges, and the two trial lawyers, Art and Chiron. He and his six friends were sitting behind the prosecution's desk to the judge's left, while the seven heroes of the _Argo II_ were sitting behind Chiron. They all still looked incredibly uncomfortable, but he didn't care. The only person for whom he still cared was his sister, Hazel. The rest were dead to him, for all he cared.

The court scribe, Japeth, sitting in his small place, cleared his throat. "The first defendant, accused, suspect, litigant, and offender is the goddess Aphrodite. She is charged with, accused of, and arraigned for Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation, Product, Handiwork, and Achievement."

As he was saying that, the goddess Aphrodite herself was being escorted to her place next to Chiron. She was wearing comfortable clothing, more comfortable than any prisoner usually wears, but simple and grey. Her hair was matted, and her eyes had lost their shine. For once, the god of beauty was not beautiful.

Nico looked over to the other side, and saw that Piper had completely paled. Part of him took some satisfaction in the look, while the other part felt guilty for feeling that way. Was he being a horrible person? Maybe. But he was through with the gods, and through with the demigods. That knife in his calf was the tipping point on a mountain of anguish that finally sent him over the edge.

"How does the defendant plead?" Sunday asked.

"Not guilty," Aphrodite replied. Her voice was ragged, dull, and deflated.

"Very well," Sunday continued. "The prosecution may call its first witness."

Art stood up. "The prosecution calls the goddess Eris to the stand."

At the back of the courtroom, the large doors opened. Into the room stepped a short goddess, one whose appearance made Nico avert his eyes. Her hair was a tangled, grey mat. Her clothing was torn, and was sewn in many different colors that seemed to clash with one another. Her teeth were of all different sizes, some of them razor sharp, and her eyes were different colors. There was no cohesiveness to her look, everything was just a random, disorganized jumble.

Nico knew who it was immediately: Eris, the goddess of discord.

Eris walked slowly up to the witness stand and sat down. He discolored eyes stared straight at Aphrodite, who did not meet her gaze.

"Do you swear upon the Keys to the Kingdom to give truthful testimony, and to utter nothing upon this stand that is false?" Sunday asked.

"I do," Eris replied. Her voice was raspy and difficult to listed to.

Art began pacing toward the witness stand. "Hello, Eris," he said. "I have a few simple questions regarding the actions of the defendant, Aphrodite."

"I am aware," Eris replied.

"I know, just confirming," said Art. "Now, the rumors say that it was you who threw the famous golden apple at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Is this correct."

"Yes," Eris answered directly.

"Why would you do this?" Art implored.

"I wasn't invited to the wedding, of course," Eris said in a raspy tone. "I simply wanted to ruin it."

"But many more events took place because of that apple, no?"

"Yes, you know the story," said Eris.

"Were those events the result of actions taken by the defendant in question, Eris?"

"Yes."

"How so?" Art implored strongly. "What did Aphrodite do?"

Eris cackled, causing Aphrodite to flinch. "My golden apple, it had an inscription on it, you see. _For the fairest_ , it said. Aphrodite, in her vanity, believed that it belonged to her, but so did Hera and Athena. Zeus chose Paris to judge, and so all three offered him bribes. Aphrodite's bribe was to give him the most beautiful woman in all of the world to marry, which was Helen of Troy. Aphrodite spirited Helen out of Sparta and gave her to Paris, starting the Trojan War, all for my golden apple." Eris cackled again.

"So, just to recap," Art continued, "it was the actions of Aphrodite with regard to Helen that started the Trojan War, all for a silly, meaningless, golden apple."

"That is the case," Eris purred. "Sometimes one's finest handiwork is what he creates unintentionally."

"Eris," said Art, "how many people died in the Trojan War?"

"Thousands," said the goddess of discord.

"Thousands," repeated Art to the jury. "No further questions."

Art returned to his desk, and Chiron galloped to take his place by the witness stand.

"Eris, goddess of discord," Chiron started. "You have a lot of practice causing discord, no?"

Eris looked confused. "It is my specialty, yes."

"Now, since you were the one that threw the golden apple, shouldn't you be the one responsible for the Trojan War?"

"Like I said earlier, that war was not my intent," Eris insisted. "I merely wanted to see a few fights break out, to ruin the wedding I wasn't invited to."

"So you, the goddess of discord, had no idea what discord would result of your actions?" Chiron asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"I don't," Eris replied with a misshapen smile. "You make it sound as if I'm coordinated, that I know exactly how much discord will happen when I do things. I'm the goddess of discord, remember? I just set the logs on fire, and let them burn where they will."

"Perhaps fewer tragedies would occur if you were more careful," said Chiron. "Nothing further."

Chiron retreated back to the desk, Eris trailing him with her strange eyes. Behind him, Nico noticed some movement. Piper, Aphrodite's daughter, was getting up to leave, looking sick to her stomach.

"The prosecution's next witness is the goddess Persephone," Art declared.

Persephone emerged from the doors, and took the seat recently evacuated by Eris. She was much more beautiful, looking like a bright, healthy daisy in full bloom. She took the stand hesitantly and sat down, back straight as an arrow, before taking the oath.

"Persephone," Art began, "you look lovely today."

"Thank you," Persephone replied softly.

"Now, I know we agreed that you wouldn't have to testify, so why are you testifying here today?"

"Out of my own volition," the flower goddess declared.

"Now, you took an oath to tell nothing but the truth," Art said. "An oath on the Keys is binding."

"Yes," said Persephone. "I am telling the truth."

"Let the jury recognize that this goddess would be destroyed by the Keys had she been lying," said Art. "Now, Persephone, you've been in the Underworld a long time, with plenty of memories. Do you remember someone named Adonis?"

Persephone's eyes widened slightly, but she answered in stride. "Yes, yes I do. I raised him in the Underworld."

"Strange place to raise a child," Art pointed out. "Why were you the one to raise this child?"

Persephone sighed. "Aphrodite asked me to."

"Because?"

"Because his mother had committed suicide," Persephone replied, shuddering at the memory.

"I'm sure there's a tragic story behind that," Art said with symphony. "Please relate it, if you can."

The goddess gulped, turning to Aphrodite. The love goddess had a nervous look on her face, which Persephone ignored. "Adonis's mother was named Myrrha," she said slowly, still shaking. "When Myrrha had come of age, she was very beautiful, so much so that her mother said she was as beautiful as Aphrodite. This angered Aphrodite of course, for she thought that comment to be insulting."

"And, what did she do?"

"She…she cursed Myrrha by making her fall insanely in love with her own father," Persephone replied. "She became pregnant with his child, and was thus driven out of her home. She was turned into a tree after she killed herself, but still gave birth to her baby."

"What a poor child," Art remarked. "Born out of incest caused by a single remark taken widely the wrong way by a jealous goddess."

Now it was Nico's turn to stand. If all of the testimony was going to be like that, then he didn't want any part of it. The gods were cruel, torturing poor people for meaningless comments. How many stories were there, of people being punished like Adonis's mother? How many deaths were they responsible for?

Making his way past Reyna, Arthur, and Rachel, Nico squirmed his way into the central aisle and turned to leave. All eyes were on him as he did so, but he didn't care. He simply had to get out of that room. He had his own pain to deal with, he didn't need to relive the pain of others.

As soon as he left through the doors, his head was drawn immediately to his right. There, on the floor, was Piper. Her head was in her hands, and she was convulsing with sobs. She looked up at him as he passed, her eyes red from crying.

Nico almost felt bad for her. It must have been a shock, realizing that the gods were no better than monsters. The months that she spent fighting, it was all for a bunch of monsters. Then the pity disappeared, and Nico remembered the pain associated with her and her friends. He moved on, without looking back.

* * *

Over the next few days the trial wore on. Leaf was there for some of it, and absent for others. There truly was a lot of testimony, almost all of it from the thousands of minor gods that existed in the Greek pantheon. Art had truly pooled all of his resources together before the trial, and it had paid off.

Chiron did a good job as a defense attorney, asking all the right questions and turning the tables on the witnesses, but their testimony was too damning. It was no wonder Chiron had tried to get out of the trial, it was practically unwinnable from his perspective. Still, he tried, and Leaf had to admit he was doing a good job under the circumstances.

They were now past the halfway point in the entire trial, Leaf figured. Aphrodite had gone first, and her encounters with Paris, Adonis, and Psyche were glossed over. Apollo had been next, and his numerous sins, affairs, and liaisons were covered in great detail. Ares was forced to revisit his barbaric war mongering, and Artemis's killing of the Niobids was called into question, among other things. Athena followed, and Art brought up the story regarding Arachne. Athena had told Chiron to step aside, that she would represent herself, and got into a long, furious argument with Art over the story. It was quite entertaining to watch.

For the most part, Reyna, Rachel, and Nico avoided the trials. They peaked in every now and then, but stayed away most of the time. Fred also had duties as a general in the Regiment, so he could only come for short periods of time. Arthur was in and out, so most of the time Leaf found herself sitting with Suzy, watching whichever witness was giving testimony at the time.

As for those seven heroes of the gods, they were practically never there. Leaf could only imagine what was going through their heads, a strange mix of guilt and horror that was probably driving them crazy. Even Chiron seemed a bit fazed. He did his duty as defense attorney, of course, but it was still easy to tell that he was horrified by some of the gods' actions, when shown in a certain light by Leaf's good old friend, Art.

It was on the end of the fifth day of the trial, and Leaf was sitting with Suzy on the usual bench behind the prosecution. The bench behind Chiron was empty. Dionysus was on currently the one on trial, and it looked to Leaf like he was going to get off. It seemed that Dionysus's terrible acts had been done mostly in response to direct threats to him, instead of mere insults or fickle things.

 _That would be the second in a row,_ Leaf thought. Demeter had been before him, and Art had announced that, due to lack of a solid case, he was dropping the charges against her. _Doesn't matter to me_ , Leaf reminded herself. _As long as the gods are kept out of Earth, I'm happy_.

Suzy let out a yawn beside her. She was very tired, as the day had been long and tedious. Art was finishing up his cross examination of Dionysus, and then Sunday declared the matter finished. Knowing that they were going in alphabetical order, Leaf knew that Hephaestus would be called next. That was what she was waiting for, to see the god that had tried to kill her put on the stand.

"The next defendant to be tried will be the god Hephaestus, on the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation," Art told the judges. Japeth had been relieved of announcing duties, as he took too long. Hephaestus trudged out to his place beside Chiron. He looked even uglier than usual, being held for trial did not suit him. The only real difference was his beard, the fires of which had burned out. It added to the utter deflation of his appearance.

"How does the defendant plead?" Saturday asked.

"Not guilty," Hephaestus croaked.

"Prosecution may call its first witness," said Saturday.

Despite herself, Leaf found that she was spacing out. It was the end of the day, and even the prospect of seeing her potential murderer tried couldn't keep her alert. Her eyes started to droop, and her head began to nod, and she was very close to falling sleep.

"The prosecution calls Miss Leaf to the stand," Art announced.

That woke her up real fast. Her eyes shot open, and she had to muster all of the dignity she could to keep her mouth from hanging open wide. She sat still and motionless, unable to move. A knot of nervousness sprouted in her gut. She did not want to testify, to talk in front of all these Denizens about her near-death experience. Why hadn't Art told her that he would call her?

"Miss Leaf?" Mister Monday called.

"Oh, right," she muttered nervously. She shuffled her way past Suzy, who was no longer yawning. She hastened to the witness stand, striding across the marble floor of the courtroom. She could feel the eyes of everyone present on her back, and her nervousness increased. She thought back to all of those crime movies and shows, how witnesses were frequently ripped apart on the stand, how they nearly broke under the pressure of having to relive those awful moments.

 _You can do this_ , she told herself bluntly. _This guy tried to execute you, make him pay for it._

She reached the witness stand and sat. She patted down her clothing, trying to make it more presentable to all of the people watching. She was in the middle of doing so when they were talking to her again.

"Do you swear upon the Keys to the Kingdom to give testimony that is true, and to utter nothing upon this stand that is false?"

"Uh, yes," Leaf replied. "I do."

"Good, Miss Leaf," said Art, beginning his questioning. "Now, could you please tell the court who you are, and where you are from?"

Leaf cleared her throat. "My name is Leaf, and I'm from Earth."

"Leaf what?" Art asked.

Leaf felt confused, unsure of the question. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have a last name?" Art reiterated. "Surely you must."

"Um, no, I don't," Leaf replied. "My parents got rid of my family name when they changed my name to Leaf. They're big environmentalists, you see."

"Ah," said Art. "Interesting. Your last name, however, is not relevant. It is the fact that you are from Earth, which the gods were charged with to rule. You are from Earth, you said, yes?"

Leaf nodded her head.

"Good," said Art. "Now, tell me, have you ever seen the god Hephaestus before?"

"I have."

"And what were the circumstances surrounding this encounter?"

"It was the battle at Port Wednesday," Leaf answered. "I was defending my captain, Captain Swell, when I was tricked into being captured by him."

"Objection!" Chiron exclaimed. "The event that the witness is describing is not relevant to the charge of Gross Mismanagement of the Architect's Creation!"

"Is Leaf not the creation of the Architect?" Art responded. "Moreover, we have established that she is from Earth, which was under the gods' rule."

"This event did not take place on Earth!" Chiron countered.

"But it involved one of Earth's residents," Art pointed out. "The testimony of this witness goes to how the defendant treated one of his subjects, just like all of the other testimonies."

Sunday sighed. "I'll allow it. Are there any objections?"

He turned to his fellow judges, none of whom objected to his ruling.

"Very well," said Sunday. "Prosecution may proceed."

Art nodded. "Please continue, Miss Leaf."

"Okay," said Leaf. Putting on a brave front, she continued the tale. "I was tricked into being captured by him, and he was going to take me to his ship, where he was…"

"What, Miss Leaf?" Art pressed.

"Where he was going to kill me," Leaf finished with a gulp. "He said he was going to kill me."

"Thank you, Miss Leaf," said Art. "Nothing further."

"Miss Leaf," Chiron began immediately. "You said that this event took place in the scene of a battle, correct?"

"Correct."

"So, can't you say that he was merely participating in battle?" Chiron posited. "Isn't one supposed to fight his enemies in battle?"

Leaf began to sweat. "It wasn't like that."

"You said it was a battle, no?" said Chiron with a smile.

"Yeah, but I wasn't fighting him or anything!" said Leaf. She was getting flustered, just like the witnesses in the movies. She couldn't believe how Chiron was painting this picture.

"It was a battle," the centaur said. "You must have been fighting."

Leaf began to turn red, but she forced herself to calm down. She couldn't let him get her enraged like that, she had to seem like the one in the right.

"I was not fighting him," she said calmly. "In most battles, you face your enemy head on, not sneak up on her from behind and execute her in private, unless you're a coward."

"I guess Miss Leaf believes that the goal of battles is to let your enemies defeat you," said Chiron. "No further questions."

"Redirect!" Art called.

Sunday nodded.

"Miss Leaf, how were you tricked into being captured?" Art asked hurriedly.

"By way of Hephaestus's son, the scrawny one," Leaf replied. "He started talking to me, telling me he didn't like bloodshed or something, while Hephaestus snuck up on me."

"So you weren't fighting Hephaestus directly? Or anyone, for that matter?"

"No, my battle had concluded, and I was away from the main battle at the beach," Leaf said clearly.

"Thank you," said Art, with a smile. "That is all."

Leaf stepped down from the witness stand. All sounds of the continued trial were lost on her as she returned to her seat. She was worried, that's for sure. Was she good enough? Did her testimony convince the jury that what Hephaestus did was wrong? Or maybe she got too flustered, maybe she let Chiron manipulate her into sounding crazed and unbelievable.

"Nice job," Suzy whispered to her as she returned to her seat.

"Thanks," Leaf whispered back.

Now all she could do was wait. Wait, and hope that the verdict would be in her favor.


	28. Difficult Conversations

**A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter has a lot of drama and feelings in it, so if you don't like that stuff then you're not going to love this chapter. I myself am not such a fan of that kind of stuff, but this story wouldn't really end well without it, so I had to include it. Hope you enjoy it!**

CHAPTER 28: Difficult Conversations

Reyna was strolling through the Incomparable Gardens, trying to stave off her heavy thoughts and be content. It was easy to do, as the Gardens were absolutely stunning. There were flowers and plants in sizes and colors that she had never imagined. She had only seen it all from a distance, she hadn't had the time to actually explore the Gardens in depth. Now that she was doing that, she was able to appreciate the true beauty of the Incomparable Gardens.

It was a good thing the Gardens were so captivating, because Reyna had a lot on her mind. The trials were a bit overwhelming at times, which was why she had avoided them as much as possible. Every misdeed of the gods that Art brought up was like a stab to the gut for her. She couldn't believe she had spent all this time fighting _for_ these monsters. Some of them truly deserved to be fairly punished for their deeds.

 _It will all be over soon_ , Reyna assured herself. _This whole fiasco will soon come to an end_.

But that brought up more worries, and more questions. For once the trial was over, Reyna would have to make an important decision: where to go from there. She really had no idea what to do with herself once the trial ended. Her whole life had been pledged to the Twelfth Legion, what would she do once the Twelfth Legion ceased to exist. She would have nowhere to go on Earth, nowhere to live, nowhere to call home.

 _I could stay here in the House,_ Reyna thought. But that brought up other problems. She was a human, a mortal, unlike the Denizens of the House. Would she fit in? Where would she go? The unfortunate truth was that Reyna didn't feel like there was a place for her in the House. It made her sad to acknowledge that that was the case, but she had to face the facts.

 _It's no use troubling myself over this now_ , she thought. _I'll wait for this trial to be over_. _Surely Art can at least let me stay here until I've figured something out._

She hoped, anyway.

She was walking through the Gardens, admiring the beauty of a row of tall, lavender roses, when she came upon a forlorn figure sitting on the dirt. He was gazing straight ahead, sad eyes on the flowers before him. He was hugging his legs, and rested his head on his knees. He was wearing a purple t-shirt, and had a sword resting next to him on the ground. Reyna recognized him immediately.

Jason Grace was not faring well. He had the disposition of an old man, hunched and bent over, even though he was anything but. His eyes seemed distant and sad, as if his entire world had suddenly collapsed around him. Which, technically, had actually happened.

 _It's no wonder he's so upset,_ Reyna figured, _Jupiter's part of the trial has been going on for four days now_. To face the awful deeds of one's father was horrible, especially when one's father was the greedy, selfish, lustful lord of the world. Art had been merciless, bringing up every single one of Jupiter's liaisons and highlighting their disastrous effects upon the world.

But it was more than that, Reyna could tell. She vaguely recognized the look on Jason's face, the look of sadness and disappointment in one's self. It was the same look that Reyna herself wore when she first had a major failure, back before she became praetor. She had learned to cope with it though, and learned the valuable lesson that an extremely valuable component to success is failure itself.

Jason Grace had never failed in a quest before. And it was hitting him hard.

Before Reyna knew what she was doing, she was walking over to him. Every instinct in her body told her not to go to him. She was the last person he'd want to see. He was upset that he had failed his quest, and she was the reason that he had failed. She and her friends had defeated him and his friends, plain and simple, and he probably still viewed Reyna's actions as betrayal. To say that their relationship wasn't what it used to be was a massive understatement.

Still, she went to him nevertheless. Maybe some vestige of the bond between them still existed. Maybe she was doing it for old times' sake. Or maybe she had no idea why she was doing it. She just saw a person in the dumps, and felt the desire to help. No matter the circumstances.

Reyna sat down next to him in the dirt. He didn't even regard her, he just kept staring ahead as if nothing had happened. Reyna joined him, and the two sat silently for a few moments, each entrenched in their own thoughts.

"Pretty, aren't they," Reyna finally stated. A light remark to start a conversation.

Jason merely shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything.

Reyna sighed. "You've seen better days," she remarked.

"I think we've all seen better days," Jason replied. His voice was low and sad. "Not you though, it seems. You look as good as ever. Happy, confident, and totally at ease." A sad smile flickered on his face. "I see you've ever got yourself a new outfit."

Reyna glanced downward at her new clothes. She was wearing the uniform of the Legion. Not the Twelfth Legion, but the Legion of the Army of the Architect. Fred and Suzy had procured it for her, saying that she needed a new outfit since she had torn off her purple cloak. Obviously, though, the change of attire represented much more than that.

"Yes," Reyna said firmly. "I did."

Jason chuckled. "It's amazing how quickly people move on, you know? Their entire past, their old friends, all gone in the blink of an eye."

Reyna narrowed her eyes. "If that were the case, I wouldn't be here."

"Why are you here?" Jason asked, perhaps a bit harshly. "I didn't think you still gave two damns about me."

"You act as if I'm a monster," said Reyna.

"You betrayed your friends," Jason put forth. His face was almost murderous. "You took everyone who ever meant anything to you and turned your back on them."

Reyna balled her fists, cold, stony fury overtaking her. She was sick and tired of having that thrown in her face. How many times did she have to explain herself? How many times would she have to put forth her side of the story? She was done with that, so she decided that it was finally time to own it.

"You know what?" she exclaimed. "Yes, you're right. I betrayed my legion, all of my friends, and everything I have ever stood for in my entire life. That's all anyone can see in this, no one bothers to look deeper than that, do they. Do you know why I did what I did? The true reason? Because I have to sleep at night!"

Reyna's voice broke on those last words as she remembered the series of nightmares that plagued her for several nights in a row. She had locked those thoughts deep inside her, but now they were coming right back out.

"You're a hypocrite, Jason Grace, and a coward," Reyna seethed. "You berate me for going against the gods, yet you refuse to consider what the gods have actually done. You are too scared to go into that courtroom and face reality because you're scared of what you'll find. Go in there, Jason! Go and learn of the many deeds of your father! Go and discover the truth about the gods that you fight for, and then we'll see if you still think _I'm_ the monster!"

Reyna stood up abruptly and made to storm off.

"Reyna!" Jason called. His voice was much more different now. He sounded regretful, and on the verge of tears. "Reyna, please!"

Reyna had just enough decency left in her to turn around. "What?" she barked.

Jason was visibly crying. "Reyna, I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "You're right. About all of it. I'm so sorry!"

Reyna sighed. She sometimes had to remember that Jason, albeit brave and strong, was still only a teenager, and teenagers were prone to saying thoughtless things. He had been clinging to the idea that the gods were good, even as more and more evidence mounted to the contrary, because that was his whole world, a world that he was completely and utterly attached to. And now the illusion had broken for him, and it had crushed him.

"Relax, Jason," she said evenly. "I know you're not a bad person, even if you are an idiot sometimes."

Jason looked up and smiled. "That's for sure," he sniffed, tears abating.

"How are you feeling?" Reyna asked.

"I…I'm not sure what to feel right now," Jason admitted.

"That's normal," said Reyna. "I've been feeling like that a lot until recently."

Jason nodded and sniffled. "Listen, Reyna, what you said earlier, about me not considering your perspective, it made me realize that I've never really done that for you, have I."

"No, you really didn't," Reyna replied, blunt and truthful.

"You always seemed so strong, so confident, I never even realized what things must have been like from your point of view," Jason continued. "It must have been so lonely as praetor, and none of us even realized. I'm such a horrible friend." His voice grew sad again toward the end.

 _Why is he bringing that up now?_ Reyna wondered. _Guilt begets guilt, I guess_.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Jason," Reyna replied. "You're right. Being alone at the head of the legion, it was very lonely. And it seemed at times that no one even cared for me, or even acknowledged by existence as a person. You're the only person I've ever shared the praetorship with until Frank, and then you go away and return with a new best friend. I'm not going to lie, that hurt."

"Can you ever forgive me?" Jason asked. He looked truly guilty and ashamed of his actions.

Reyna closed her eyes, and nodded. She was immediately gasping for air as Jason enveloped her in a massive, tight hug. After recuperating for a second, Reyna hugged him back, albeit not without a sense of reluctance. Had she forgiven Jason Grace? Yes. Were they now on better terms? Yes. But she sensed that their friendship wouldn't be what it once was. That boat had sailed.

In that hug, Reyna could only think of her time back down on Earth, as praetor of the Legion. Jason's apology had brought back some of the memories of that time, clouding her mind. She was lonely, terribly lonely. She would walk by herself, live by herself, and often had no one to talk to save for when she was giving orders.

 _It's lonely at the top_ , she thought sullenly.

It was a good thing, then, that she was no longer at the top. Those days, she realized with a smile, were finally over.

* * *

Nico, for the first time in a while, was quite comfortable. He was in the Incomparable Gardens, sitting underneath a wide tree. His back leaned comfortably against the tree's trunk, and the grass below him provided a nice cushion. Next to him, with her head resting on his shoulder, was Hazel, his sister.

Hazel had come running to him not long after he had sat down. She was a teary mess, and apologies were gushing from her mouth like a waterfall. Nico hadn't actually understood exactly what she was saying, but he got the gist. He sat her down, calmed her down, and stopped her tears before forgiving her.

His forgiveness, of course, resulted in another bout of tears, this time in gratitude. Nico had to hold his sister's head against his chest to stop the flow of tears. It didn't take much to find it in his heart to forgive her, she was his sister after all, and family is family.

Nico took a deep breath. He was glad more than ever that he had gotten Hades immunity. He could hardly imagine what the other demigods were going through, and he was glad that Hazel and he did not have to go through it alongside them. The deeds of Hades would not be brought forth by Art at trial, and Hades would not be in danger of being found guilty of any crime.

He grunted in pain as he shifted his position. His calf still ached from his stab wound that he took, but it was otherwise healed. Annabeth's stab wound had all but disappeared, at least from his calf.

His feelings still bore the brunt of the wound, though. His feelings had always been fragile, and that had absolutely shattered them. In a fair fight, maybe he could have accepted getting wounded, but Annabeth had stabbed him from behind, like the slippery snake that she was.

And Percy, Percy had just watched, and didn't even help him. He had stared down at him, so indifferent, and then left him there.

So when he saw the two of them approaching, his immediate reaction was to be incredibly angry. He sent a cold stare in their direction, colder than the depth of the Underworld itself. The air seemed to drop a few degrees, and Hazel shivered beside him.

"Jeez, Nico, what—oh," Hazel said, realizing why Nico was glaring so angrily.

"Come on, Hazel," Nico announced loudly, making to leave.

"You won't even give us a chance?" Annabeth called.

"I've given you plenty of chances," said Nico curtly. "Now, please leave me alone."

"Come on, Nico," said Hazel gently, tugging at his sleeve. "At least give them a chance."

"Why?" Nico retorted. "They seem way less apologetic than you, and their actions were twenty times worse."

"You give them a chance to be fair," Hazel replied wisely. "You can't know whether or not to forgive them if you aren't being fair. For once in your life, give someone a chance." She gazed up at him, eyes sparkling like stars.

That backed Nico into a corner. Using his own solitary past against him was a smart strategy, but moreover, it got to him. His eyes glossed over, and he couldn't find any words to say.

"Nico," Percy spoke softly. "We are so sorry, Nico."

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it," Nico replied gruffly.

Percy put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't think so," he said quietly. "We've done so much, you've suffered so much, it can't all get fixed by one word, can it."

"My thoughts exactly," Nico replied. "So unless you've got anything more to say, I'll be on—"

Percy suddenly reached out and pulled Nico into a tight, long hug. His arms wrapped around him, and Nico found his head pressed on Percy's shoulder. He felt wetness in his hair, and realized it was because Percy's tears were falling onto his head. Their embrace was warm and complete.

They stayed like that for a good few minutes, Percy not doing or saying anything, just holding Nico in that position. Nico's deep-rooted feelings took over, he forgot his anger and could only focus on being in the arms of the person he truly had loved.

Finally, Percy let him go. His eyes were red and puffy, and his face looked sad and guilty. "You know, I finally realized what pain you must have been in all these years, with your feelings toward me. The strong desire to have your crush love you back, or at least appreciate and recognize how much you love him. I'm sorry I never did that, and it's past due."

Nico couldn't find the words to reply, so Percy continued.

"We are so sorry," he whispered. Annabeth nodded next to him, also tearing up.

"I don't know what got into me, stabbing a demigod like that," she said. "Sometimes it's the wisest people that make the biggest mistakes."

"Please forgive us," said Percy. "Please.

All eyes turned to him, but that didn't pressure him into making his decision. His face turned from shocked to sad, and then from sad to resigned. He sighed a long sigh, and closed his eyes.

"I'll forgive you," Nico said quietly. "I'll forgive you on one condition."

Percy and Annabeth looked eager. "Yes, what is it?" they asked in unison, excited at the prospect of forgiveness.

Nico opened his eyes and looked them straight in the eye. "I never want to see either of you again," he whispered.

Their excited faced turned immediately to devastated shock. Even Hazel was stunned.

"Wh—What—" Percy stuttered

"You two bring me too much pain," Nico explained wanly. "It's my fault, really, but there's nothing I can do to fix it. I'll forgive you if you leave me alone and let me live my life without you two in it. Once you leave the House, I never want to see you again. Please, it's really the best thing you two could do for me."

A strange feeling of guilt rose in Nico, proposing such a request, but he shoved it down. He had to move on with his life, and he had to get rid of the pain to do that. There was an easy and hard way of going about that, and Nico was opting for the easy way. He was following is father's advice: completely closing out his tragedy and trauma and locking it away.

"Nico, don't," Percy begged quietly, tears streaming.

"I'm sorry," said Nico firmly, "but this is what I want."

He didn't know what took him then, but he started walking slowly toward the teary-eyed Percy. He looked straight into those sea-green eyes, those beautiful sea-green eyes. He kept moving, getting closer until they were face to face. Nico stood on his toes, leaned in, and kissed Percy on the forehead.

It was over before Percy had the chance to react. Nico had pulled back, and was standing before his former crush. "Goodbye, Percy Jackson," he whispered. Then he turned away, and did not look back.


	29. Verdicts and Decisions

CHAPTER 29: Verdicts and Decisions

The courtroom was dead silent, not a single soul moving. The room was packed solid, with every important Denizen that existed present in the room. Art, Chiron, the jury, Reyna and friends, the Heroes of Olympus, the Morrow Days, the Dawns, the Noons, the Dusks, and the rest of the gallery were in their proper positions. And beside Chiron sat eleven gods, all looking down at the floor.

Reyna could not help feeling nervous, though she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the atmosphere. It was a very tense environment in the courtroom presently, as expected. Even someone who had no idea what was happening would have been made nervous just by standing in that room.

Reyna knew, however, that her nervousness stemmed from elsewhere. Hers was the simple worry of someone waiting to see if their hard work gleaned any results. She was like a detective who waited to see if all her hard work investigating resulted in a conviction, like a student who studied hard for a test and was hoping for a good grade.

The seven chosen ones of the gods, however, looked nervous for a different reason, Reyna knew. Their worry was of concern for their parents. Their feelings were surely to be conflicted, wondering if they could forgive their parents for their monstrous acts. They seemed worried for them nonetheless, hoping that their particular mother or father would get off.

Lord Sunday, the chief judge, was in his chair in the center of the dais upon which the Days sat. His presence loomed over everyone, even Art, and his expression was so serious it could have silenced a crowd gathered to watch a comedy act. The other Morrow Days were no less daunting, each looking over the room with a piercing gaze.

"Has the jury finished its deliberations and reached its verdicts?" Lord Sunday asked, turning to the jury.

"We have," said the foreman, who stood up.

"Very well," said Sunday gravely. "In each case, for each god, you will state whether that particular defendant is guilty, not guilty, or whether your decision was deadlocked. If found innocent, the defendant will be released and be given freedom of the House, with permission to live within the House in peace for eternity. If deadlocked, the defendant will be given a stern warning, and will be forced to perform community service for the good of the House. If found guilty, the defendant will be sentenced by us according to the guidelines provided by the prosecution, as both sides agreed to. Does the jury understand?"

"We do," said the foreman.

"Good," said Sunday. "On the charge against the goddess Aphrodite, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant guilty," said the foreman.

Piper let out a small gasp, and put a hand to her mouth.

"On the charge against the god Apollo, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

Rachel nodded her head firmly.

"On the charge against the god Ares, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

Frank clenched his fists, and turned white as a ghost.

"On the charge against the goddess Artemis, how do you find?"

"We are deadlocked," said the foreman.

"Very well. On the charge against the goddess Athena, how do you find?"

"We are deadlocked."

Annabeth looked visibly relieved.

"Very well," said Sunday. "The charges against the goddess Demeter have been dropped."

Demeter, standing in the back of the room, smiled faintly, Persephone at her side.

"On the charge against the god Dionysus, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant not guilty," said the foreman.

"On the charge against the god Hephaestus, how do you find?"

"We are deadlocked."

Leo did a miniature fist pump in the air.

"On the charge against the goddess Hera, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

"On the charge against the god Hermes, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant not guilty."

"On the charge against the god Poseidon, how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

Percy closed his eyes, looking grim.

"And on the charge against the god Zeus, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant very guilty," the foreman concluded with a twist.

"Very well," said Sunday. "The Court of Days thanks the jury for its service. The six defendants found guilty will remain behind for sentencing. The three found not guilty are free to go, and the other three will receive their community service assignments from Superior Saturday at this time tomorrow. Court is adjourned."

Sunday slammed his gavel on his desk, and everyone behind Reyna stood to leave. The Denizens were buzzing with chatter as they left the room, while the jury left more silently. Hermes and Dionysus were absolutely jubilant, as they skipped toward Demeter in the back without a care in the world. Athena, Artemis and Hephaestus were a bit disgruntled at the thought of community service, but seemed overall relieved. The six gods found guilty looked incredibly fearful, especially Aphrodite and Apollo.

Reyna and her six friends stayed put, though, and so did their seven counterparts.

"Approach the bench," Sunday instructed the six guilty gods. They followed the instruction reluctantly, even Zeus and Hera seemed to have all of the fight knocked out of them. Ares tried to look defiant, but the chains around his wrists betrayed the appearance. Poseidon was looking at his feet, Aphrodite was wringing her hands, and Apollo was visibly shaking.

 _Good_ , said an evil voice inside of Reyna. _Let them know fear for once_. Then she shook her head, wondering at how such a malicious thought rose in her head.

"You all have been found guilty," Sunday told the six gods. "Before I pronounce sentence, does anyone have a statement to make?"

Chiron opened his mouth to speak.

"Not you, counselor," Sunday clarified. "Anyone other than the attorneys present."

Silence dominated the room. Reyna sure as hell had nothing to say, what else could she do to incriminate these gods further? Looking around her, everyone else's mouths were zipped tight. Her friends were all holding their peace, clearly having nothing else to add to the discussion. The seven demigods to her left, though, had more tortured looks on their faces, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. Reyna knew what they were thinking, they wanted to say something in the gods' defense but couldn't think of what. As if the trial wasn't convincing enough, the fact that their own children couldn't defend them was damning indeed.

"No? Not even their own children?" Sunday mused. "Very well, we are ready to pronounce sentence. Saturday?"

The room seemed to suddenly stiffen, as if everyone's nerves had just shot through the roof at the mention of sentence.

Saturday stood, papers in hand. "After brief but fruitful discussion, and since there are no statements to be made, we have come to a proper sentence in light of a guilty verdict, which we have. The gods have ruled over the Earth for about 4,000 years, and thus we sentence them to 4,000 years mining in the Deep Coal Cellar."

Apollo shrieked in horror, at the same time that Art exclaimed "that's it?"

Saturday raised a hand. "Allow me to clarify," she said. "They ruled Earth for 4,000 years as time on Earth flows. They will serve in the Deep Coal Cellar for 4,000 years, as Earth time flows."

"Oh," said Art. Then he bowed. "As the judges decree."

"What does that mean?" Aphrodite asked in a strangely hopeful tone. "Does time flow more slowly here? Will we get out sooner?"

"Hmm," said Arthur from where he was standing. "Let's see. From the time that I overthrew Grim Tuesday to when I was taken into the Border Sea was about twenty-four hours on Earth, and about a year in the House." He smiled suddenly.

"I don't understand…" Aphrodite trailed off.

"I guess you're not good with math," Nico cooed. "It means you'll be in there for nearly a million and half years, House time."

All six of the gods paled.

"This court is adjourned!" Sunday announced.

"Enjoy!" Leaf told the gods cheerily. "Pleasure doing business with you!"

* * *

Frank's head was on his knees as he stared glumly into the distance. He was outside the courtroom; the sentencing hearing having just come to and end. It hadn't gone too well, since his dad got sentenced to a million and a half years mining coal. He would be long dead before he came out, and that thought scared him.

Still, he felt conflicted. This whole time he had believed that the gods had been captured by evildoers that would do them harm. Then he came to the House, and his perspective had been entirely flipped. He felt like he had been blinded his entire life, and that the blindfolds had suddenly come off, revealing the gods for who they were and what they did. Did his dad do terrible things, yes. Did he deserve his sentence, possibly... He had no idea what to think, he was his dad, after all.

His friends seemed to be having similar thoughts. Jason was pacing furiously across the grass. Annabeth was hugging Piper furiously, who was still tearful. Hazel and Leo seemed to be in a fierce discussion about the topic, while Percy was staring into the distance, similar to Frank himself.

"Were you not at the trial?" Hazel exclaimed. "They clearly did bad things, and the judges were very fair!"

"You're just saying that because your dad was pardoned!" Leo shouted back.

"I am not!" Hazel replied indignantly. "And boo hoo! Your dad got _community service_ , how horrible!"

"Will you two stop it?" Percy demanded sternly. "There's no point to all this yelling."

Leo slumped to the floor in defeat. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "And Calypso is prancing around as if everything's fine!"

"The gods did imprison her for millennia," Annabeth pointed out. "I bet she's relishing the irony, that the shoe is on the other foot now."

Silence followed that comment, as no one seemed to know what to say. The sullen silence seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, threatening to all seven of them. Frank felt it more than any of them. His entire life fighting for the Twelfth Legion, there had always been a course of action. Hope had never faded, there was always a way out, a way forward. Not today, though. For the first time in Frank's life, it was simply over.

"So, that's it, isn't it," Piper whispered, summing up all of their thoughts in a nutshell. Frank knew what she meant. Being demigods had been a monumental part of all of their lives, and now it was all gone, with the suddenness of a shift in the wind. Their paths in life, so secure and straightforward a week ago, were now foggy and fraught with uncertainty. Where would they each go from here, now that the gods' time on Earth had come to a close?

And that was only seven of them, Frank knew. What about the other demigods, both Greek and Roman? He hadn't seen them since the battle, but was told they were being housed in a place called the Middle House. What would they do? The Twelfth Legion, once so compact and orderly, now blew in the wind like loose leaves. There were so many questions, so many uncertainties, and no clarity.

"Yeah, Pipes," Jason said sullenly. "That's it."

"That attitude won't get you very far, you know," said an assertive voice, the one voice that Frank least wanted to hear.

In front of them, standing tall and strong like a warrior, was Reyna herself. She was wearing one of the uniforms that Frank saw on the battlefield, and it saddened him to see that it seemed so natural on her. Her hair was tied back in a single braid, and her eyes were gleaming, but emotionless. Beside her stood Rachel Elizabeth Dare, wearing a deep green robe, akin to the color of the grass at her feet. She too, looked unfazed by this meeting.

The same could not be said for the seven demigods. Jason didn't even bother looking up, which Frank attributed to the fact that he had already spoken with Reyna. Percy and Annabeth wore matching sullen looks, and Piper and Leo were trying to suppress glares. Hazel was friendlier, even giving Reyna a small wave.

As for Frank, he took to staring at his shoes for fear of revealing his confused expression. He was a fair person, and he knew that he couldn't hold what Reyna did against her. Looking at it from her perspective, he could completely understand why she did what she did, at least in hindsight. Still, he couldn't erase the fact that Reyna has always been someone he looked up to, someone to emulate, before she completely did a 180. So, as usual, he didn't know what to think or feel.

"How long have you been listening?" Frank asked.

"Not long," replied Reyna. "We were looking for you guys anyhow."

"For what?" Percy asked.

"To say goodbye," Rachel answered. "Nico wishes all of you well, he said he already said the farewells he wanted to."

"Yeah?" Leo spat. "What makes you think we want to say goodbye to you?"

"Leo!" Hazel exclaimed.

Reyna chuckled. "I can understand why you're angry, really, I don't blame you for it, even after all of this time has passed. As a matter of fact, I expected it."

Leo's anger was replaced by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Leo Valdez," Reyna replied. "I know who you're really angry at, all of you." She paused, looking each of them in the eye. She had them captivated, and she knew it.

"You're not angry at me, at us," she continued. "At first, that was probably the case, until the gods were defeated. Then, the seven of you sat through the trial, and were exposed to all of the nasty things the gods did over the millennia. And then your anger shifted, not at me, not at them, but at yourselves. You all thought, 'how could I have risked my life fighting for them, those awful beings?' Your anger surprised you, so you merely shrugged it off as anger toward us, and let it be. Am I right?"

That question didn't even need a reply to be answered. She had hit the nail on the head. The anger started to fill Frank before he could even do anything about it. He had spent so much energy fighting monsters, when the real monsters had been the gods he was fighting for. It made him angry, and sad. The gods were demons, and he had perpetuated their demonism.

"Our point," Rachel spoke up, "is that you shouldn't be angry. You are all good people, every last one of you. You were only misguided, that's all. You thought that the gods were the best possible rulers of the world, you didn't know you had other options. You are all brave, kind, and honorable, and don't think for a second that you aren't."

All the anger seemed to dissipate, replaced by shaky sobs and resigned sighs.

Reyna stepped forward, putting one hand on Frank's shoulder, and the other on Percy's. "Go back to Earth," she said. "Go to school, learn, and go to college. Get your degrees, master your chosen professions, and succeed. Get married, buy a house, and have children. All of you. Live the normal mortal lives that I know you've always dreamed of."

Frank himself started to tear up, but he nodded firmly. Deep down in his heart, he had yearned for a normal life for a long time. As for Reyna, Frank discovered that she still was a person to look up to, someone who gave good advice and looked out for people. She looked the part, too, like a trueborn leader. That uniform, the regal stance, the enlightened eyes. She was aptly named, he realized. _Reyna_ , in Spanish, meant _queen_ , after all.

"Wishing you all the best," Reyna finished. She nodded, smiled, and turned to leave. Rachel gave them one last wave and followed her. Frank and the others would never see them again.

Annabeth would go and follow her life's dream. She would become one of the world's leading architects, designing numerous buildings and complexes across the United States. Percy would use his combat experience and the remnants of his marine abilities to graduate from the top of his class at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He would serve in the Navy for over forty years. He and Annabeth got married, and they have four children.

Jason, learning from his experience watching trials, decided to become a defense attorney, a very successful one. Piper, though her friends from high school thought she would be a smash-hit fashion model, she decided to take a different course. To everyone's surprise, she became a professor of psychology at the University of California Los Angeles. She and Jason, a married couple, have two children, twins.

Leo opened up a very successful mechanic's shop, with the help of Calypso, who was permitted to become a mortal and descend onto Earth. The two even opened up a couple of taco restaurants. Preferring not to have children, the two live happily together in their home in Houston, Texas.

As for Frank, his knowledge of animals proved useful, leading to his becoming a veterinarian. Eventually, he had enough money to open up his own zoo, which he owns with his wife Hazel. Hazel herself became a jeweler, dealing with many precious metals on a daily basis. They have two daughters, Emily and Marie, and a third is on the way.

They plan to name her Reyna.

* * *

"Well, what took so long?" Suzy complained. "The tea is going to get cold."

"Goodbyes can take a long time," Reyna explained. "If you do them right."

"Thanks for waiting," Rachel added.

"We've been waiting nearly three weeks for all of this to be over," said Arthur with a smile. "What's a few more minutes?"

Reyna smiled. Three weeks? That didn't sound right. You normally didn't make special friendships in three weeks.

Still smiling, Reyna took her mug of tea in her grasp and raised it up. Her six friends beside her did the same.

"To a successful mission," Fred began.

"To a hard-fought battle," said Leaf.

"To a happy outcome," said Rachel.

"To a just ruling," said Nico.

"To a dandy celebration!" Suzy exclaimed.

"To a safe and secure Earth," said Arthur.

"And to a long-lasting friendship," Reyna finished.

"Cheers!" they all exclaimed at once, clanging their mugs against the others. They each took a long, happy sip of their delicious tea. Savoring the taste on her tongue, Reyna was filled with nothing but happiness.

 _Yes_ , she thought, _this is where I belong_.


	30. Epilogue

CHAPTER 30: Epilogue

The snow fell thick and fast in the Flat of the Middle House, as it always did. It was nighttime, and though it was snowing, a bright, artificial moon still lit up the snowy surface. The small village of Letterer's Lark was brightly lit, each window shining with the warm, toasty light of a hearth.

Art paused in his trudging, as the small house he was looking for was right in front of him. The light glowed warmly in those windows as well, and the shape and size was the same as the other houses in the area. This house was different, though, not for what it was, but for who was inside.

The seven champions of the House, the ones who had risked their lives to make the Earth a better place, were inside that one house, having a cheery gathering. It was the home that Fred had formerly lived in, back when he was working in the Middle House. There would be tea flowing like a river inside, he knew, and biscuits galore. Both were staples of a happy gathering in the House.

He had been watching all seven of them, of course, being the Lord of the Universe and all. It had been interesting to watch their lives play out, each of them pursuing their interests and each succeeding in what they did. It had been a pleasure, actually, watching them, just like it had been a pleasure working with them all those years ago.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare had returned to Earth, back to where her parents were living. She had eventually taken over her father's business, growing it and expanding it into its most successful era. She was now the richest and most successful woman in America, by all standards.

Nico di Angelo had remained in the House all these years, in the Far Reaches, to be specific. He had taken to working with Nothing, fascinated that something so dark and destructive could be used to create such grand things. He would go on to help Grim Tuesday in his works, thinking of ideas that not even Tuesday imagined were possible. His father, Hades, was there also, working with his son.

Leaf had gone on to become a rock-and-roll star, inspired by Arthur's adoptive father. It turned out that she had a good voice, and she started a band named _The Morrow Days_ , an apt name given her adventures. She also became an activist for the environment, to her father's delight.

Fred Gold, of course, continued on as a general in the Army of the Architect. He did not rise through the ranks since the fall of the gods, not because he didn't deserve it, but because there was nowhere for him to rise. He was at the top, only below Sir Thursday himself. He became the Army's chief strategist, and successfully countered no fewer than eleven Nithling incursions.

Suzy Blue remained the New Architect's chief assistant, as expected. She did not grow out of her brash, happy-go-lucky, cheery attitude, and Art came to realize that he enjoyed that aspect of Suzy's personality. Behind it all, though, lay compassion that Art never thought she had, as it was her idea to allow the guilty gods to have one day in seven to leave the Cellar and rest from their intense work.

Arthur Penhaligon went back to Earth to live the normal life he long sought. He became a scientist, like his mother, doing important medical research. Thanks to his efforts, numerous vaccines for influenzas were developed. Huge disasters were avoided, and influenza had become a thing of the past.

Reyna Ramirez-Arellano remained in the House. She completed a hundred years of service in the Army alongside her mother, Bellona. Then, while Bellona remained in the Army, Reyna decided to move to the Middle House and join the Gilded Youths, a group of fighting Denizens known for their golden armor. She became their commander in no time at all, leading them valiantly and effectively.

As for the world, it was no doubt a better place since the absence of the gods. Sure, there were still wars and disasters, but now they were on a much smaller scale. Humanity prospered, and it was all thanks to the seven champions of the House. They worked hard to make the world better, and they led fruitful and meaningful lives afterward as a reward for their efforts. It was truly heartwarming to behold.

Art sighed, an uncertain look on his face. Slowly, he turned toward the seven tall figures that had come with him.

"Are you sure you wish to do this?" he asked them.

"I, for one, am sure," Lord Sunday replied firmly.

"So am I," Superior Saturday confirmed. "Ten thousand years is a long time."

"And we've done two of them," Lady Friday added. "I'm ready."

"I've fought all my battles, to the last breath," said Sir Thursday. "It is time to lay down my sword."

"I, too, grow weary," said Drowned Wednesday. "It's time to move on."

"Time to rest," Grim Tuesday continued, "time to relax."

"Time to retire," Mister Monday finished.

"And are you sure you wish for them to replace you?" Art asked.

"Absolutely," Lord Sunday answered. "You know as well as I that they've more than earned it."

"They are brave, strong, and wise above all," Drowned Wednesday added. "Nearly thirty years on Earth did not change that, nor did ten thousand in the House. None are more capable."

Art smiled. "Very well, I have no objections."

"Thank you, New Architect," said Lord Sunday. "It has been a pleasure working with you."

"And it has been an equal pleasure working alongside all of you," Superior Saturday added, indicating the other Morrow Days.

The Morrow Days all nodded, acknowledging each other with gratitude and respect.

Art nodded. "It is you all that I should be thanking," he said. "For your loyal service, these past ten thousand years." He turned back toward the house. "Now, to tell them."

The Morrow Days bowed, and Art continued forward alone. He had no doubt in his mind that he was making the right decision. There was no other group in the Universe he would rather work with.

Slowly, the New Architect reached the door, and knocked twice. The door swung open, Suzy's hand on the knob and a smile on her face. Behind her, the other six were gathered around a table, food and drink present in bountiful amounts. The hearth was crackling warmly, banishing the cold from his body.

"Art!" Suzy exclaimed with a bright grin. The others smiled too, genuine and joyful.

"Come in," said Arthur kindly. "Would you like some tea, and a few biscuits?"

Art returned their grins with a happy smile of his own. "Nothing would make me happier."

THE END

 **A/N: And that'll do it! My first completed FanFiction is in the books! A million thanks to all of you who have been following and reading this story, it was really fun and interesting to write. As always, feel free to leave a review saying what you liked, disliked, loved, hated, or otherwise felt about the story. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I look forward to posting some more stories in the future.**


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